Candle in the Dark Claire's Story
by ClaireCullen625
Summary: In Eclipse, Quil Ateara imprinted on Claire, the two-year-old niece of Emily, fiancée of Sam Uley. It is now 20 years in the future, and Claire is 22 years old. Quil has always been around Claire, but now things are getting interesting.
1. Chapter 1

"Candle in the Dark: Claire's Story"

*Notes: Rosalie and Emmett do not appear in this story. At this point in time, they are travelling through Africa. The characters in this story are copyrighted to their respective authors. No harm is intended in their use and I thank them for creating such wonderful literary worlds for our enjoyment.*

***In Eclipse, Quil Ateara imprinted on Claire, the two-year-old niece of Emily, fiancée of Sam Uley. It is now 20 years in the future, and Claire is 22 years old. Quil has always been around Claire, but now things are getting interesting. ***

Chapter 1

Alone in her room, Claire prepared to get ready for her day. This was the first day of her senior year of college, and she was excited and dreading it at the same time. While deciding what to wear, there was a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it," yelled Claire from her room. Tearing through her dorm room, Claire bolted to the front door & wrenched it open.

"Hey, Claire," beamed Quil.

"Come on in, Quil," Claire responded.

Quil walked cautiously behind Claire, making sure not to knock anything off the shelves with his burliness. Claire was extremely at ease with Quil around. She walked into the front room and sat down on the sofa. Quil sat right next to her.

"So, are you ready for your senior year of college?" Quil questioned her.

"Yeah, it is gonna be a crazy year," Claire replied.

"You don't want just a quiet year back at home?" Quil inquired.

Claire sat quietly for a moment, and then said, "I've already made it this far, Quil. I'm not gonna go home now."

"Well, you better hurry up," Quil said as he checked his watch. "If you're not careful, you're going to be late. Don't want that on the first day of class."

"No, I guess you're right, Quil," Claire agreed. "I better get a move on, then."

Claire walked Quil to the door and as he passed, he swept her into a bone-crunching bear hug. Claire struggled for breath until Quil finally released her. Quil gave her a strange look, one that Claire had never seen from him before, and said, "Can I come by tonight?"

"Quil, my room mate knows you practically live here. There'll be a plate for you when you get here after work," Claire answered.

"Sweet, I'll see you tonight," Quil replied. Just before he stepped out the door, he hesitated, and then gave Claire a kiss on the cheek.

_That was something new_, Claire thought to herself as she closed the door. _I wonder what that was for._ Claire glanced at her watch, gasped, then darted back upstairs to finish getting ready for class. After throwing on her favorite pair of jeans and a long-sleeved thin cotton t-shirt, she brushed her straight ebony hair, pulled it into a ponytail, hastily brushed her teeth, sprinted back to the living room to grab her book bag, and was out the door.

As Claire got into her car, she had a strange thought about Quil. _Why did Quil kiss me? He's never shown any affection like that before. A hug, maybe, but never this._ The thought didn't sit right with Claire, but she pushed it out of her mind and started her car. Claire drove a 2009 Ford Shelby Mustang in Sky Blue. The car had belonged to her mother when she was a toddler. Claire's mother, Tina (short for Christina), is her aunt Emily's older sister. Aunt Emily is now married to Sam Uley, and they now have two kids, her twin cousins Nathan and Natalie.

Claire went to the University of Alaska instead of going to school in Seattle with everyone else. As she drove by the student parking lot, she noticed there was a silver Mercedes, vintage & very sleek, parked in the lot. _Who could afford to drive something like that, living __here__??? _She pulled into a parking spot, parking next to a black Volvo, which belonged to her best friend.

"Hey Nessie!" Claire called as she got out of her car.

A beautiful girl, with chocolate brown eyes, bouncing bronze curls and ivory skin that seemed to have a luminous glow, turned toward her and flashed her brilliant smile.

"Hey Claire," Renesmee called out. "I was wondering when you were going to get here."

Claire stepped around her car to meet up on the other side with Renesmee. "Sorry about that. Quil stopped by this morning. It was kind of weird."

"What made it weird?" Renesmee questioned.

"Well……" Claire hesitated. After a deep breath, she said "Quil kissed me on the cheek this morning."

Renesmee looked at Claire with a slightly surprised look on her face. Nessie finally asked Claire, "It took him this long just to kiss you on the _cheek_?"

Claire scoffed under her breath. As they headed into the building, Nessie kept pressuring Claire for details.

"What's the big deal? Was it sloppy?" Nessie asked.

Claire laughed aloud. "No, that's not it. Quil has always been around, for as long as I can remember. He's got to be quite a bit older than me, but he doesn't look like he's aged at all." Claire hesitated before she spoke again. "Quil has been acting kind of weird lately. Like he's been trying to work up the nerve to do or say something. I don't know what the deal is."

"Do you like Quil?" Nessie persisted.

They had arrived at their first class and Claire quickly changed the subject. "Who do you think drives that old Mercedes?"

"I already know," Nessie stated simply.

Claire stared after her as they walked into the classroom. As they went to their seats, Claire glanced over the classroom and, stepping over a vent in the floor, locked eyes with a gorgeous stranger.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the third row sat the most beautiful creature that Claire had ever laid eyes on. Long, honey-colored hair tied in a ponytail, alabaster skin, and honey-colored eyes locked onto Claire's face. Claire's breath hitched in her chest, until his eyes, growing darker with each step that she took, finally released hers. Renesmee pulled at her elbow gently, directing her to a seat that was to the right of the stranger, only a few desks away.

Claire continued to glance at the stranger, wondering about the look on his face. The guy continued to give Claire a hard stare, almost as though he were angry at her. Claire glanced over to Renesmee, saying, "What is that guy's deal?" Nessie looked over at the guy and made a very low noise, almost like a hiss. It was somewhat frightening. The stranger glared over at Renesmee and then gazed towards the front of the classroom.

As the lesson droned on, Claire could feel the eyes of the handsome and mysterious stranger upon her, taking a chance to glance over at him every so often, to see if he was still glaring at her. Renesmee tried to bring Claire's concentration back to the lesson with little success. At the end of the lesson, the gorgeous creature was out of his seat as soon as the professor released them and through the door so quickly that she barely saw him move; one moment he was getting out of his chair and the next all she could see of him was his jacket whipping around the corner of the doorway.

As they were leaving, Renesmee asked, "Claire, are you okay?" It took her a few minutes to regain her thoughts, but eventually, Claire answered, "Yeah, I'm all right. That was just extremely weird."

"You're telling me," Renesmee agreed.

As they walked to the parking lot, Claire felt the presence of eyes upon her. She looked all around and couldn't see anything, and finally decided she was just being paranoid. "What do you think his problem was? I don't even know who he is and he looked like he was really angry at me for something," Claire voiced aloud. Nessie just walked silently by her side, glancing around them quickly every few minutes.

"Hey, wait a minute," Claire gasped. "You said you knew who he was, didn't you?"

Renesmee seemed to hesitate, confirming Claire's intuition that she knew what the guy's deal was and why he seemed so angry at her. After a few minutes, Claire finally asked, "Well, are you going to tell me anything about him?"

Renesmee sighed. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Claire."

"Why not?" Claire demanded. "You flaunted the fact that you knew whose car that was before we even got inside, and now you're not going to tell me who he is or how you know him? Will you at least tell me his name?"

"All right, fine," Nessie finally conceded. "His name is Louis Cullen, and he's my grandpa's nephew."

"He looks kind of young to be your grandpa's nephew," Claire observed.

"Well, he is like a great-nephew, or something," Renesmee corrected quickly. "I only met him once or twice a few years ago. I don't really know him that well."

Claire pondered to herself, _I wonder if Nessie is trying to keep something from me._ Claire and Renesmee had finally reached their cars, the silver Mercedes belonging to Louis having already departed…quickly by the look of things, observing the black tire streaks left behind. Renesmee turned to Claire and asked, "Do you want to come over tonight? It's just going to be me and Jacob."

"Yeah, that sounds cool," Claire responded. "Quil was supposed to stop by at dinner tonight, but I know that my room mate is getting tired of him eating everything in the fridge. So if you would have Jake call to invite him over too, that'll be all right."

"All right, do you want me to follow you home?" Renesmee wondered.

Claire got the sort of impression that Nessie wanted to make sure that she got home, like something might happen to her. "Don't worry, Nessie. I'll be at your place after class this afternoon," Claire assured her, getting into her car. As Claire closed the door, she could see out of the corner of her eye that Renesmee was watching her, casually glancing around as though to make sure that nothing was going to spring out and attack. Claire quickly started her car, dropped it into gear and took off slowly, waving half-heartedly at Nessie as she drove by.

As Claire made the short trip back to her apartment, she began to feel a presence, almost as though something was following her. Determinedly telling herself that she was imagining things, she pulled into her parking spot and made her way back up to her dorm room. Her next class was not until 3:00 PM, so she definitely had some time to kill. As she was heading into her apartment, she decided that was going to take a nap, to pass the time until her next class. As she entered her room and began to shut the door, she continued to feel a presence, as though someone or something was lingering around. Claire walked over to her window, making sure that it was shut & locked. As Claire stepped away from her window, she pulled at her hair tie and shook out her midnight tresses, running her fingers through her hair absent-mindedly. Just as she was about to flop down on her bed, there was a pounding at the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Claire, scared witless, slowly made her way back towards the front door. She approached the door and asked timidly, "Who's there?" When nobody replied, Claire slowly unlocked the door to peek out & see if she could see anybody. Just as she opened the door a tiny bit, there came trouble. Two tall thin teenagers with the same straight black hair, lively green eyes, and the same smirk bolted through the door, not waiting for Claire to move out of the way. Her twin cousins, Nathan and Natalie, plopped on her living room couch & proceeded to turn on the TV.

"What are you guys doing here?" Claire inquired, feeling quite relieved. "Where's Aunt Emily & Uncle Sam?"

Just then, a beautiful woman with the same long, straight black hair, dark russet skin, and a gorgeous face marred with three long, claw-like scars stepped into the doorframe. She gave a sweet smile, one corner of her mouth not turning up with the other, being constantly pulled down by the scars. "Claire," Aunt Emily beamed. Emily swiftly crossed the threshold, gathering Claire into a warm hug. Behind her was a very tall young looking man, with cropped, well-kept hair, big burly muscles and a sober face. His face was scrunched up, like he had smelled something unpleasant.

"Hey, Sam," Claire said lightly.

"Claire," Sam acknowledged her greeting cordially. He strolled directly over to Emily, took her hand, and looked at her lovingly.

"So what you are all doing way up here?" Claire inquired.

"Well, Sam was talking to Jacob yesterday, and Jacob mentioned that today would be the first day of your senior year," Emily replied quickly, not too convincingly. "So we thought we'd come up for a few days to see how things are going."

"Well, nothing much has happened yet. I've only had one class so far," Claire said, yawning lightly. "I've got another class at 3:00 PM, but after that, I'm supposed to be going over to Nessie & Jake's for dinner. Quil is supposed to meet us there, if Jake remembered to call him."

"Oh, I talked to Quil earlier," Sam interjected. "He had already heard from Jacob and planned on being there. Maybe we should call Jake and see if we'd be welcome tonight."

"I can call Nessie and ask," Claire offered. Claire always loved spending time with her Aunt Emily and her cousins, but Uncle Sam made her a little nervous.

"All right, I haven't seen Jake in forever," Nathan said over the blare of the TV.

"You just like going over there because Renesmee gives you whatever you want," Natalie chimed in.

"So, what's wrong with that?" Nathan glared at her.

"Quit arguing, you two," Sam interceded gruffly. The twins immediately became quiet, a feat that Claire had only witnessed a few times in her life.

"Well, Claire, what else were you going to do today?" Emily asked. "Have you made any new friends lately?"

Claire had the distinct impression that Emily was fishing for something, but not for herself. Claire's eyes drifted casually over to Sam to judge his reaction. "Well, there was this new guy in our lecture today, but he didn't seem to like me very much. At least, he never said anything to me; he just glared at me for most of the lecture."

"Well, that seems kind of rude," Natalie piped in.

"Yes, thank you, Natalie," Emily replied, in a matter of fact voice, which meant that Natalie was not a part of this conversation. "What did he look like?"

Claire was extremely hesitant, hoping that her description wouldn't give away how much Louis had affected her. "Well, he was tall, had long dirty-blonde hair, with really fair skin, kind of like Renesmee's."

Sam's expression flashed quickly from astonishment to fury. He quietly excused himself and went out the front door. A few moments after he walked out of the room, there was an extremely loud howl, seeming to be just outside her apartment building. It caused the hair on Claire's arms to stand up. Claire looked at Emily and asked her, "What was that?"

"Claire, did Renesmee say anything to you about this guy?" Emily pressed on, dodging her question. "Did she tell you his name or anything?"

"Yes, Aunt Emily," Claire sighed, giving in. "She said his name is Louis Cullen and he is Carlisle's nephew, or something. Why is that so bad? Renesmee is a Cullen."

Emily stared blankly at the wall for a moment, before answering. "Renesmee is a Cullen, yes, but she's different."

"What do you mean, different?" Claire inquired.

"I've told you some of the legends of the Quileute tribe," Emily began.

"Yes, you told me a couple times, but I never believed you," Claire stated. "There's no way that it could be true……is there?"

Emily sighed, and then looked Claire dead in the face. "Yes, Claire, it's true. And so is the legend of the 'cold ones'. The 'cold ones' are the Cullen family. Renesmee is different because she was conceived while her mother was still human. Bella gave birth to Nessie right before she was changed to save her life. Renesmee is half vampire/half human."

"So…you're telling me that Louis is a vampire?" Claire demanded quietly, her heart beginning to sink. Emily put her hand on Claire's shoulder & replied, "Yes, I'm afraid he is."

Claire stared around her apartment as if she had never seen it before, and then went to sit on the couch next to her twin cousins. Emily walked over and sat on the chair caddy-corner to the sofa, put her hand over Claire's and said, "There's something else that I need to tell you."

"What next?" Claire asked sarcastically.

Emily hesitated briefly. "Claire, I'm sure by now that you have noticed that Quil hasn't seemed to age, correct?"

"Yeah, I said something to Nessie about that earlier today actually," Claire admitted. "Quil kissed me on the cheek this morning. It seemed like he had been trying to work up the courage for a while."

"I was wondering about that," Emily sighed. "How do you feel about Quil?"

"He's like my best friend," Claire answered honestly. "He's been around me for as long as I can remember, and I love him to death……just not that way."

Emily looked down and sighed. "I was wondering about that too. Quil imprinted on you when you were two years old. Imprinting is where the spirit of the wolf that lives in the Quileute men finds their other half. Now, imprinting occurs at the moment the wolf spirit senses its match. Quil had hoped that when the time was right, that you would come to him. But, I have been worried that the opposite might happen."

Emily was silent as she allowed Claire to take all this in.

"Where did Sam go?" Claire asked, recovering from shock.

"He transformed so he could alert Quil, because once Quil knows about there being another Cullen other than Renesmee around you, he knew that Quil would go nuts," Emily explained.

"What's Quil going to do?" Claire questioned timidly.

"Quil's probably going to want to hang out more, just so that he can be around you," Emily conceded. "Be very careful about what you do or say around Quil, especially when he's angry. The wolves can be very unpredictable, and it doesn't take much to set them off."

Claire looked at her Aunt Emily's face, and realized what she meant. The scars marring Emily's beautiful face was from a wildlife attack, or so she had been told when she was younger. But now that Claire was older, she knew her aunt had not deliberately lied to her, but was simply trying to protect her, and her heart swelled at the thought. Just then, Uncle Sam re-entered the room.

"What did you tell Quil?" Claire demanded furiously, almost on the verge of tears.

Sam, looking slightly bewildered, only had to glance over at Emily to know the truth. "I informed Quil that there was a new Cullen, here & not back in Forks," Sam explained slowly. "I also told him about going over to Jake & Nessie's tonight, so that calmed him down a little. I'm pretty sure that he's on his way here now."

"Ugh…" Claire groaned as she fought to hold back the tears threatening to overflow at any moment. The thought of having an angry & overprotective Quil around her right now was just too much. "Look, you guys, I'm sorry, but I have to get out of here. Tell Quil I'm sorry, and not to worry, I'll be back soon." With that, Claire grabbed her jacket, keys and purse & headed towards the door. She looked back at her Aunt Emily and mouthed, "I'm sorry," as she shut the door behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Claire made her way down to her car hastily. She still had the feeling that somebody was watching her. She glanced back towards her dorm room to see her Aunt Emily looking down at her from the balcony. Claire got into her car, gunning the engine to life. She peeled out of the parking lot and took off through the winding forest. She drove until she could no longer see the break in the trees. She finally pulled over onto the side of the road, got out of her car and began to hike one of the many trails in the Alaskan wilderness.

She walked angrily at first: angry at Renesmee for never telling her the _complete_ truth, angry at Quil for being so overprotective, angry at herself for feeling so much for Louis, even though she had never even spoken to him. Claire's pace finally began to slow as her anger ebbed away. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as her anger gave over to a feeling that she did not deal with often: fear. _What am I going to do now?_ Claire asked herself. She continued to wander aimlessly, consumed by her thoughts. Soon, she found a recently fallen tree, and sank gratefully on its sturdy trunk. There, in the quiet of the forest, she finally gave way to her tears.

Before long, Claire realized it was growing dark. She checked her watch & noticed that it was just after 5:00 PM. _Dammit_, she groaned internally. _I missed my class this afternoon. I'm definitely going to regret that._ Claire lifted herself from her sanctuary and made her way quickly through the wilderness, again feeling the presence of eyes watching her. Determined not to give in to fear again, she hastily finished trekking her way back to her car. She jumped into the car, gunned the engine to life, did a quick 180-degree turn, and headed back into town. As she drove back through town, she saw Louis' silver Mercedes parked in front of the local library. _He's into books? I wouldn't have guessed that,_ Claire thought to herself. Resisting the strong urge to go look for him in the library, Claire drove to the other end of town and headed toward Jacob & Renesmee's house. Nessie & Jake's house was just outside of town, but nestled quietly into the surrounding wilderness. If you didn't know where the house was, you'd miss it completely. Claire parked her Mustang in front of the house & headed around to the patio, off the back of the house. As dusk continued to fall, Claire heard some commotion on the patio. She walked around the edge of the house to see Sam arguing with Quil. Quil seemed to be quivering with rage, and Claire could only guess that she was the reason. Deciding to act as though she hadn't seen anything, Claire bravely strolled around the side of the house and yelled, "Hey guys!"

"Claire!!" Quil cried out. Quil jumped over the railing off the porch and crossed the remaining distance in two gigantic steps. He swept Claire into another bone-crunching hug, only this time Quil did not let Claire down. "Don't ever take off like that again," he whispered fervently into the side of Claire's neck. Claire finally began beating Quil on his back, trying to get his attention. Quil finally let Claire down, and as soon as she was on her feet, air rushed gratefully into Claire's oxygen deprived lungs. Quil continued to hold Claire close, although not as tight a squeeze as before. Quil looked down at Claire and brushed the hair out of her eyes before releasing her. Quil took Claire by the hand and led her up to the patio where Sam, Emily, her twin cousins Natalie & Nathan, and Jacob all sat around, looking at her. Claire dropped Quil's hand and went to sit by her Aunt Emily, not saying anything. Emily looked over at Claire, concerned.

"Claire, is everything alright?" Emily asked quietly.

"I need to go talk to Nessie," Claire said quickly. She got up swiftly and made her way into the house. Through the tidy kitchen and dining room, Claire marched, finding Renesmee in the living room on a sleek silver cell phone. Nessie's lips were moving swiftly, yet silently, like she was talking to herself. Claire approached the edge of the sofa, distracting Renesmee from her conversation. She looked up at Claire and silently ended her call. Renesmee looked sad, and asked Claire, "Are you alright?"

Claire hesitated before she answered, "I am now. But why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry," Nessie replied. "With our kind, there's really only one law: Keep the Secret. I couldn't tell you; you had to figure it out on your own. But since Jake's tribe has legends about us, I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later."

"Yeah, I guess," Claire said sullenly. "I didn't actually figure it out; the real truth about your family & about the Quileute legends…my Aunt Emily told me."

"Yeah, she filled us in on that bit," Nessie said. "But when you took off, where did you go?"

Claire sat down on the sofa next to Renesmee, not at all concerned or nervous, and continued slowly.

"I went out driving and ended up in the forest," Claire confessed. "I just wanted to be alone…so I could think."

"The forest isn't a safe place for you to be by yourself," Renesmee scolded her. "There are many dangerous things in the wilderness, and the worst things will tend to find someone like you."

"What do you mean someone like _me_?" Claire asked, stunned.

"Human," Nessie answered simply.

"Oh," Claire muttered.

After a few moments silence, Claire continued with her questions. "Why was Louis upset with me today?"

"Please don't take this personally, but…" Renesmee began, "I think this is something for Louis to explain to you himself."

"Is he coming by?" Claire glanced up, hopeful.

Renesmee smiled slightly. "Not while the _pups_ are here."

"Oh, I see," Claire mumbled, instantly downhearted at the notion of not seeing Louis.

"Don't worry, he's still going to be in our class," Nessie said, trying to sound cheerful. Renesmee reached out to touch Claire's arm lightly, and she jumped slightly.

"Your skin…" Claire began. "Why is it so hot?"

Renesmee pulled her hand back slowly. "I run a lot warmer than you do, but not as hot as Jake and the pack. My parents aren't sure why." Claire was brought back to herself jarringly at the mention of Nessie's mom & dad.

"How are Edward & Bella?" Claire asked, ashamed that she had not remembered to ask about them in a while.

"They're doing real good," Renesmee replied. "They've spent some time up here in Denali recently. Before that, they were traveling through Africa and Europe."

"Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun," Claire said. "Are you and Jake planning on going anywhere after graduation?"

"Yeah, we've been thinking about maybe traveling with my Aunt Alice & Uncle Jasper," Renesmee answered. "But we're not sure exactly where we might go. Alice wants it to be a surprise for me, since nothing surprises her." Nessie laughed quietly to herself. Claire stared at her, wondering what could be funny.

"What are you chuckling at?" Claire asked. "Why doesn't anything surprise your Aunt Alice?"

"Oh, that's right, you don't know about our abilities," Renesmee replied, smacking herself in the forehead. "I forgot about that. Well, when a vampire is created, they bring with them certain aspects or traits from their human life. Rarely, there will be a vampire who has an extraordinary ability far beyond the norm. Edward, my father, can read people's minds. My mother, Bella: her mind acts like a shield, keeping external influences out, but only if they are projected from another's mind. She can expand the shield over long distances to help protect others if necessary. My aunt Alice can see the future…" Renesmee paused as Claire gasped. "But her visions are subjective. She can see a person's course as long as they do not change their minds; if they make a new decision, the whole future shifts. Uncle Jasper can control people's emotions. He can help calm down an angry room, or hype up a sluggish crowd, things like that." Nessie stopped to allow Claire's mind to process all this amazing information. After a moment, Claire finally seemed to comprehend everything that Renesmee had just told her. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

"Since both your mother & father had gifts…" Claire began to ask.

"Yes, Claire, I have a gift, too," Nessie said softly. "Would you like me to show you?"

"It's something you have to show me?" Claire questioned hesitantly. Claire wasn't afraid of Renesmee, just still trying to process all the information that she had been given that day. Trying not to sound scared, Claire asked, "Will it hurt?"

Nessie laughed as she said, "No, it won't hurt you. It will be a little disorienting at first, but you won't feel anything."

Claire took a deep breath, let it out slowly and replied, "Okay, let's do it."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Renesmee situated herself closer to Claire, so that she could easily reach out to touch her. Nessie raised her hand, then paused and looked at Claire. Claire looked at Renesmee's hand for a moment, looked back at Nessie's face and then nodded. Renesmee reached up and placed her hand gently on Claire's face. Claire's eyes closed and her eyes began to move back and forth quickly, yet lightly, under her lids, as though she were dreaming.

To Claire, it seemed as though she was watching a movie, only everything moved too fast. She caught glimpses of Bella covered in blood, of Rosalie holding a metal bottle, a bare-chested Jacob running through the forest, looking over Bella's shoulder at a large clearing with a lot of people wearing hooded capes, Edward with a deer in his clutches, various quick flashes of Bella's father Charlie & Sue Clearwater-Swan, Bella's mother and stepfather, Renee and Phil, Billy Black, Sam & Emily, the rest of Jake's pack, and a quick flash of Louis's shining face.

Renesmee lowered her hand and Claire's eyes fluttered open. Claire was breathing somewhat at a normal rate when Quil came into the living room, looking concerned. "Is everything all right, Claire?" Quil asked quietly. He slowly walked over to the other side of Claire and sat down.

"Yeah, I'm all right, Quil," Claire reassured him after a moment. "I've just been talking to Nessie."

"Well, I mainly came in to let you two know that Sam said the food is done. So, you two had better hurry or else Nathan, Jake and I will eat everything," Quil said teasingly. The three of them stood up and began to make their way to the patio.

"All right, Quil," Nessie chuckled, punching Quil in his arm so fast it almost looked invisible. A deep bruise formed quickly and started to fade away right before Claire's eyes. Quil just laughed.

Nathan, Jacob, Sam, Emily, and Natalie were already sitting down eating, listening to Sam talk about some of the past battles that they had shared with the Cullens. Sam was elaborating on the battle with the newborn vampires, Nathan listening intently to every word his father said. Quil made Renesmee and Claire their plates and sat down next to Claire, while Nessie sat next to Jake. Claire listened half-heartedly to Sam's history lesson, thinking instead of Louis. She couldn't get him out of her mind.

Claire continued to imagine Louis coming for her: sometimes his eyes were the lovely topaz that captivated her mind the first moment she saw him; other times, they were the dark dead black color that she had seen them turn soon after their eyes locked. Claire remembered how she had felt fearful, like she was in danger, when his eyes went dark. Now she knew why. _He wanted to kill me,_ Claire thought to herself. _But the Cullens were only supposed to hunt animals,_ the fearful side of her rational mind said. Her heart, on the other hand, was most optimistic. _He has to face temptation with his nature. He has suppressed it for so long; yet sometimes it rises up, reminding him of what is at risk, simply being around humans._ Claire hurriedly pushed this out of her mind. Having finished eating, Claire disposed of her flatware & began making her round of good-byes. Having said good-bye to Nathan, Natalie, Jacob, Sam, Emily and lastly giving Renesmee a huge sisterly hug, Claire allowed Quil to walk her to her car. As Claire unlocked her car, Quil immediately opened her door and proceeded to help her into the car. As Quil was getting ready to close Claire's door, he stopped and looked at her.

"Claire…" Quil began.

Claire put her hand on one of Quil's arm to stop him from trying to say anything. She took a deep breath and said, "Quil, I know what you've been struggling to tell me for so long, so you don't need to worry about it." Claire stopped to look at Quil's face before she said sweetly, "But, it's getting late and I'm getting kind of tired."

"Oh, right," Quil said suddenly. "Well, be careful and I'll see you soon." Quil stood up from his crouch next to Claire's car and took Claire's hand. He squeezed it so hard it made Claire's eyes water. She looked up at Quil, but Quil must have thought that Claire was crying for some other reason. Quil released Claire's hand quickly and took her face in his hands.

"Claire, what's the matter?" Quil demanded fiercely.

Claire gulped some air before she answered, "Oh, it's nothing. I'm just really tired. I'll be all right, I promise." Quil seemed to buy the response. Still with Claire's face in his hands, Quil leaned forward and slowly kissed Claire's forehead. He touched his forehead to hers, and then looking into Claire's eyes, whispered, "Claire, promise me you'll be careful when I'm not with you."

Claire took Quil's hands off of her face, held them gently in her lap, and looking down at his hands, she said, "I promise, Quil." Claire's half-hearted promise seemed to satisfy Quil for the moment. He let go of Claire's hands and stood up, shutting her car door. Claire started her engine and headed back through town to her apartment. As she was climbing the stairs to her apartment, she still felt like there was a presence, watching her still. Claire hurriedly opened her door, dashed through and bolted the door shut again, now afraid to leave it unlocked for any length of time. She trudged slowly to her room, peeling off her clothes and throwing on some cotton sleep pants and a light tank top. As Claire crawled under the covers, she thought she spotted a shadow outside her bedroom window, but was too tired to care. She rolled over and let herself slip into dreamland.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next thing Claire knew, she was standing in a dark hallway. There was a small light coming from underneath a closed door at the far end of the hallway to her left. To her right, there was nothing but darkness. Claire slowly began approaching the closed door, checking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure that nothing was coming out of the darkness after her. As she stood outside the closed door, Claire began to feel the presence watching her. She placed her hand on the door handle and began to open it. The latch clicked and the door slowly swung open, revealing a forest clearing bathed with soft sunlight. Claire carefully stepped through the door and gazed in awe at the marvelous beauty surrounding her.

As she looked around, she noticed a pale figure standing in the shadows, watching her. Claire began to feel afraid. The shadowy form remained hidden, but as Claire watched, the being extended its arm and beckoned Claire to come towards it. Claire's heart began to race, with a mix of fear and excitement. Her foot moved forward involuntarily, closer to the shadows. Just then, a large hand grabbed her wrist and began trying to pull her backwards. Claire looked at the hand inhibiting her progress, following the arm up the body to see the face of a very angry man.

"Claire, we gotta get out of here," Quil said quickly, all the while pulling on Claire's arm.

"Why?" Claire questioned.

The shadowy figure once again beckoned to Claire, and Claire took another step forward. The dark form stepped towards her, illuminating his features. Louis beckoned her towards him again, smiling brilliantly. Quil, still standing beside Claire, began to tremble violently. The next thing Claire knew, there was a large wolfish creature, which looked as large as a bear, crouching beside her. The wolf began to move slowly towards Louis, and Claire's fear doubled. Even though she knew that Louis was immortal, Claire could not help but feel fear at the thought of him becoming injured. Louis took another step towards Claire, ignoring the large wolf that was now squarely between them. The wolf began to growl loudly, attempting to frighten Louis away from her. Louis took yet another step forward, and Claire could now see his eyes, the brilliant topaz that had captivated her soul the first time she laid eyes upon him. Louis extended his arm out towards her, his hand waiting patiently palm up for her to take hold. Claire took yet another step forward, but the wolf was blocking her path. She made to step around him, and just then, the wolf lunged at Louis. Claire, her eyes wide with fear, looked at Louis as the wolf hurtled toward him and opened her mouth to scream.

Claire awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in her bed, a scream dying off in her ears. She glanced at the clock and sighed. Her roommate had already left by now, so she didn't have to worry about alarming her. Claire brushed the hair out of her face and began to get ready for her day. She walked out of her room and headed towards her kitchen. She made herself a bowl of cereal and walked into the front room, turning on the TV to catch the news. Claire ate in silence as she listened to reports of gang violence in Los Angeles, a natural disaster in the Great Plains, and various other things that made her grateful that she lived practically in the wilderness. After Claire had finished eating, she put her bowl in the dishwasher and went to take a shower. Claire took her time, allowing the hot water to relax her muscles. Unfortunately, since this was mostly an automated action, it allowed her mind to wander. Claire's mind centered on one thing: Louis. Her brain began trying to work out what she would ever say to him if he gave her the time of day. After her shower, Claire decided that since she didn't have class today, she was going to go to the library instead. _It's not just about Louis,_ Claire told herself half-heartedly. _I do need some new reading material._ Making herself believe that, Claire grabbed her purse and her keys, and headed out the door. As Claire made her way to her Mustang, she yet once again felt the presence of eyes upon her. She ignored the slightly panicked feeling that she had, got into her car & started it up. Claire pulled out of her parking lot and headed into town. She casually glanced around her, taking in the gorgeous scenery. As Claire pulled into the library parking lot, her heart sank. Louis' car wasn't there. _What'd you expect?_ Claire asked herself. _Did you honestly think he'd be here, waiting for you?_ Claire ignored that last thought and got out of her car. As Claire browsed through the library, trying to decide what book she wanted, her mind continued to wander. _How could I even entertain the notion of someone like Louis and myself together? He's just too perfect for someone like me._ Claire finally settled on "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice, a classic. As she headed out of the library with her selection, she looked around and still didn't see Louis' car anywhere. _Stop looking for him_, she told herself vehemently. Claire got back into her car and headed for home. The drive back seemed to take much longer than usual, but that could also be because Claire had been so looking forward to the possibility of seeing Louis. She couldn't get him out of her head. She was thinking about the next time she would see him again, as she pulled into her apartment's parking lot.

Claire headed towards her apartment, reading the back cover of her library book. Her attention was so focused on the novel that she almost failed to notice the note that was taped to her door. Claire opened it and read:

_'Claire, I came by to check on you, but you weren't home. Please call me as soon as you get this. Quil'_

Claire heaved a great sigh as she unlocked her door and stepped inside. She tossed aside the note Quil had left for her and headed into her bedroom. Flopping down on her bed and kicking her shoes off simultaneously, Claire propped herself up on her pillows and began to read. She had not gotten very far when her eyelids started to become heavy. Claire's eyes refused to stay open any longer and she drifted off to sleep. Her dreams were filled with both Louis and Quil, yet her heart soared at the sight of Louis, in his alabaster magnificence.

Claire's eyes popped open suddenly. She looked over at her clock and realized she had slept all afternoon & all through the night. Claire scrambled out of bed, tossing her book onto the bedside table. She quickly brushed her hair, grabbed a quick breakfast and hastily brushed her teeth. Claire quickly grabbed her purse, book bag and keys then bolted out the door. She raced down to her car and hopped in. Gunning the engine to life, Claire peeled out of the parking lot, leaving some skid marks and a smoke trail behind her. She blasted through town, hoping to make it to campus in time for her class. Claire squealed into the parking lot, only a few minutes late. Pulling into a parking space and shutting off the engine, Claire exited her Mustang and looked around quickly. Louis' car was at the other end of the lot. Her heart soared with delight. Claire dashed into the building, skidding around corners to get to her class. Just before she reached the door of the lecture hall, Claire stopped to regain her composure. She took a few deep, calming breaths, ran her fingers quickly through her ebony locks, squared her shoulders and opened the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As soon as Claire stepped through the door, her eyes immediately scanned the room for Louis. Their eyes locked as Claire's gaze swept across the class, leaving her standing, dumb-founded, in the doorway.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Young," the professor exclaimed.

The sudden noise caught Claire's attention, forcing her to break her gaze with Louis' molten eyes. Claire looked at the professor as he said, "Would you mind taking your seat now, Miss Young?" Claire, fervently embarrassed, glided to an empty desk next to Renesmee with her head down. As soon as she sat down, Renesmee demanded, "Why were you late?"

"Overslept," Claire mumbled in response. She glanced over at Louis involuntarily, secretly and foolishly hoping that he would finally speak to her today. Louis looked over at Claire and grinned sheepishly. Claire's heart did a somersault in her chest as she flashed Louis a brilliant smile. Renesmee, sitting between the two, glanced quickly at Louis and then back at Claire. "Stop being so obvious," Nessie chided her.

Claire blushed a deep scarlet, turning her face away from Louis' with great difficulty. The lesson droned on as usual, but seemed to be taking much more time than Claire had thought possible. Just then, Nessie tapped Claire on the arm and handed her something. It looked like a note. She unfolded it cautiously and read:

_**'Claire, please forgive my rudeness the other day. I meant no disrespect and did not mean to frighten you. Please accept my apologies and allow me to make it up to you. Louis'**_

His elegant script intimidated Claire. _It looks like something out of the 18__th__ or 19__th__ century_, she thought to herself. Claire scribbled back untidily:

_'What did you have in mind? P.S. I __do__ forgive you.'_

Claire tapped Renesmee and handed her back the note to give to Louis. She drummed her fingers on her desk anxiously, trying not to get too excited. _This is so remedial_, Claire thought to herself. _Passing notes like teenagers…ugh!_ Frustrated with herself, Claire became so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was startled, letting out a small involuntary gasp, when Renesmee nudged her to hand her the note back. Claire snatched the note eagerly from Nessie's hand, opened it quickly and read:

_**'I would like to perhaps take you out for lunch (just for your benefit) and then I'd like to show you something special to me. If you'd like to do something else, please let me know. Louis.'**_

Claire thought about what Louis meant about lunch being just for her benefit when she remembered the Quileute stories about the 'cold ones'. She felt a small pang of fear and quickly pushed it out of her mind as she replied:

_'That sounds fine to me. I'd be more than happy to spend some time getting to know you better. We can just grab something quick after class, if you'd like. Let me know! Claire'_

As Claire passed the note back to Renesmee, she touched Nessie's feverish skin and caught a flash of something on her mind. It looked like she was seeing a wooded area, but the image was gone as quickly as it came, as Renesmee broke the contact of their skin. _What was that all about?_ Claire pondered silently. She waited impatiently, doodling absentmindedly on the corner of her paper that she was supposed to be taking notes on. Claire's stupor was shattered when Renesmee's arm brushed up alongside hers, and handed Claire the note. She tore it open eagerly to once again see Louis' magnanimous pen strokes, gracing the page.

_**'I'd actually like to take you somewhere nice, so we can sit down and relax a bit. I know the perfect place. Trust me. Meet me at my car after dismissal and we'll be on our way. Louis'**_

Claire could hardly believe her eyes. She took several deep breaths as she hastily scrawled an answer:

_'All right, anything you say.'_

She tapped Nessie on the arm to hand her back the note. As Renesmee made to take it from her, Claire held on to catch Nessie's eye.

"We're going out to lunch!" Claire mouthed excitedly, flashing Renesmee a brilliant smile.

"I know," she whispered back. "I helped set this up." Nessie grinned back at Claire and mouthed, "You're welcome," as she took the note to hand back to Louis. Claire's heart soared. She knew she shouldn't be so excited, considering the fact that Louis had never even physically spoken to her. But she couldn't help it.

Claire had never really been interested in dating, plus she'd always had Quil around to keep her company. Claire stopped at the thought of Quil, and felt a small twinge of regret. _I don't want to hurt Quil, but I just don't feel like that about him_, she reminded herself. Claire's mind continued to race as the last few minutes of the lecture dragged on. Claire continued to doodle on her paper, lost in thought. The professor finally finished the lesson and dismissed the class. Just as Claire was finished putting her books away, Louis appeared at her side. Gazing up at his angelic face, Louis' lips parted and spoke to her for the first time. "Hello, my name is Louis Cullen. You must be Claire."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Claire, sitting completely dumb-founded, gazed at Louis' magnificence like a star-struck teenager. Feasting her eyes on his glorious image, Louis extended his hand and waited. Claire looked at Louis' hand and, taking a deep breath, gathered her things and gave Louis her free hand. As soon as she touched his skin, it felt as though an electric shock was coursing through her veins, causing her to tremble slightly. Louis helped her to stand and then gently released her hand.

"Shall we go?" Louis asked, his musical voice quivering slightly.

"Yes, let's get going," Claire answered softly, afraid to take her eyes away from Louis' face.

Louis held out a hand, gesturing for her to lead the way. Claire stepped around her desk and proceeded to leave the lecture hall, Louis following her silently. _His movements are so graceful_, Claire observed internally.

"So…" Claire inquired as they walked. "Where are we going exactly?"

Louis grinned slyly. "That's for me to know, and for you to find out."

Finally, they reached the parking lot and Claire glanced up at the silvery sky. Clouds rolled through the sky slowly, almost allowing the sun to peek through at times, but then obscuring her from view once more. As the two of them continued to walk towards their cars, a sudden thought occurred to Claire.

"What about my car?" Claire questioned Louis.

"Hmm…" Louis pondered. "Well, I suppose I could follow you back to your place so you can drop it off. How's that sound, Claire?"

Claire's heart fluttered at the sound of his voice, caressing her name. Remembering to breathe, she looked over at his chiseled perfection and answered, "Yeah, that'll be all right."

"So, what year is your Mustang?" Louis inquired.

"Oh…umm…it's a 2009, I think," Claire retorted, struggling to draw the memory through the fog clouding her mind. Louis' presence was intoxicating. "My mom had it when I was a baby and gave it to me when I turned 16. I've had it ever since. After graduation, I'm thinking of buying a new car, though."

"I like it," Louis commented. "It suits your personality."

"Oh," was all Claire could think to say. Recovering quickly, she added, "Well, then maybe I'll just get an updated version."

"That sounds good," Louis said. "Well, shall we get going?"

"Yeah, just follow me," Claire instructed, unlocking her car.

Louis opened her door for her and closed it after she got in. Claire started her car and watched as Louis strolled gracefully to his vintage Mercedes. She noticed how fluid Louis' movements were, very deliberate. As soon as Louis had gotten into his car, Claire took off, leading the way back to her apartment. Her mind raced at the thought of her and Louis' impending time together, and she couldn't help but smile. _I don't have any reason to feel like this yet_, Claire wondered to herself. _We've only just met!_

Too absorbed in her own thoughts as she pulled into the lot, she didn't even notice that Louis had beaten her there until she parked next to him. Claire shut off her engine and opening her door, she demanded, "How'd you beat me here?"

"It's a small town," Louis said simply. "There aren't many options."

"All right, fine," Claire conceded. "But how did you know which building?"

Louis faltered slightly and then sheepishly, he admitted, "Actually, I followed your scent. I'm sorry, but I've become almost attuned to it."

"But isn't that a bad thing?" Claire asked him, slowly making her way over to his car.

"If I wasn't as 'civilized' as I am now, then yes, it would have been a very bad thing," Louis answered slowly. "But let us forget these macabre things for now. We have a lunch date." Louis flashed a radiant smile that caused Claire's knees to melt into butter. Luckily, she had made it to Louis' Mercedes before that happened. Louis walked around to her side and opened the door, waiting for her to get in. Claire looked deep into his eyes and halted, unable to break the trance until Louis finally looked down. He then took her hand and guided her into the seat, shutting the door behind her.

Claire's hand felt as though she had a hundred needles pricking her all at once. It didn't hurt; it just tingled, like her hand had gone to sleep. _Louis' touch will take some getting used to_, Claire thought to herself. _Actually…I hope that I never get used to that; it's too exhilarating._ Louis had reappeared on the other side of the car and got in. He smiled tentatively at Claire as he started the car. They pulled out of the parking lot and headed back into town. Louis casually flipped through local radio channels until he found a classic heavy metal station and began to sing along.

"How do you know this song?" Claire asked curiously.

"Oh, the lead singer is an old friend. He was also my maker," Louis said casually, a hint of disdain in his voice.

"Oh," Claire managed to mumble. "How was he able to pass for a human with all the media that follows them around 24/7?" Claire inquired.

They slowed down as they passed through the quaint little buildings that made up the town square as Louis answered, "He had a very large group of bodyguards that stood watch over him, day and night."

Claire's interest peaked. "How could he be outside during the day?"

They had pulled into the parking lot of a small Mexican eatery. Louis smiled at Claire as he shut off the engine and proceeded to get out of the car. Claire followed suit. He met her at the front of the car and said, "I'll show you that later."

"You promise?" Claire demanded.

"Scout's honor," Louis chuckled. Louis was still smiling as he held his arm out for Claire, waiting for her to grab hold. As Claire took Louis' proffered arm, she giggled slightly and said, "I guess my mother was wrong."

Louis was guiding her towards the door of the restaurant and stopped, placing his free hand on the handle.

"Wrong about what?" Louis inquired, his eyes reluctant.

"Chivalry isn't dead, after all, " Claire beamed. Louis' face relaxed and he smiled once more as he held open the door for Claire to pass.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

They entered the nearly deserted restaurant as the hostess appeared around a corner, smiling sweetly. "Table for two?" the hostess asked. The hostess took in Louis' appearance hungrily and as he nodded, she turned and called over her shoulder, "Follow me," her voice taking on a sensual tone that did not escape Claire's notice. The hostess led them around the partition separating the entrance from the dining hall. There was only one table occupied, a middle-aged couple with two children approaching their teens. They were lead to an open table near the center of the room when Louis stopped and asked, "Could we sit at one of the enclosed booths?"

The hostess turned on her heel and finally glancing at Claire, quickly taking in her pale comparison to Louis' exquisiteness, gestured them towards a back corner of the restaurant. She led them to the farthest booth, nestled directly in the corner of the room. As soon as they took their seats, Louis – sitting a mere three inches away – handed Claire the menu. The hostess broke the silence by asking, "Can I get you anything to drink?" She was speaking only to Louis. Never taking his eyes off Claire's face, Louis angled his body toward her and said, "Claire?"

"Umm…I'll have water," Claire told the hostess, feeling a sense of resentment at her relative fair looks compared to the bleach-blonde bimbo standing before her. _She looks like the type of girl who's used to getting everything and anything she wants_, Claire thought to herself. She was shocked by the amount of spite in her voice. Louis barely glanced at the hostess and he ordered, "Two waters, please."

"I'll have your waitress bring them right out for you," the hostess replied, sounding slightly putout. She whipped her shoulder-length hair around as she turned on her heel and strode out of sight, glancing back at Louis just before she turned the corner. Claire turned to Louis as he once again angled his body more towards hers.

"Now that we're properly alone," Louis began, "I'd like to apologize again for my behavior the other day."

"You don't have to apologize again," Claire said. "I've already forgiven you."

"I know, and you cannot begin to realize how much I admire you for that," Louis retorted.

Claire lowered her head, a deep scarlet filling her russet cheeks. Just then, the waitress arrived with their water glasses and setting them on the table, she said, "Are you ready to order?"

"Claire?" Louis gestured for her to begin. Claire glanced quickly at the menu and picked the only thing that seemed appetizing. "I'll have a taco salad, please."

The waitress wrote down her order and eagerly looked at Louis and asked, "And what can I get for you?" Her voice, dripping with sticky-sweet implications, caused a flare of pure jealousy to seep into Claire's blood, boiling just under the surface. It was assuaged by Louis' mesmerizing eyes..

"Nothing for me, thank you," Louis replied, never taking his eyes off Claire. The waitress' smile faltered at the obvious brush-off and said slowly, "I'll have this out for you shortly," then turned on her heel and strode away. As soon as she was out of sight, Louis picked right back up on their conversation.

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior from now on."

"What do you mean?" Claire inquired, sipping at her water.

"Well, it has to do with my behavior the other day," Louis started. "I shouldn't have let myself become so thirsty, but I thought I could handle it." Louis paused to take a deep breath, and letting it out slowly, he continued. "But then you walked in the room. Your scent hit me like a train, barreling at full steam towards the brick wall that was my willpower. It crumbled so easily; if Renesmee hadn't been there to stop me…" Louis looked down and put his head in his hands in a blindingly fast motion that Claire could barely see.

"Oh…" was all Claire managed to choke out. She had this unexplainable urge to reach out and comfort Louis. Claire raised her hand and began to reach out to him, but was unsure of how he might react. She put her hand back under the table as Louis lifted his head from his hands, looked at Claire and smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Louis said, sorrow filling his golden eyes. "I wanted this to be an enjoyable afternoon and I've ruined it."

"You haven't ruined anything," Claire replied intensely. "I can't begin to imagine the turmoil you must have had to endure for so long."

Louis gave Claire a quizzical look and opened his mouth to speak, but just then, the waitress re-appeared around the corner with Claire's food. She set it on the table in front of Claire, saying, "Here you go." She then turned toward Louis and asked brightly, "Are you sure there isn't anything I can get for you?" The waitress posed in front of Louis, looking sultry in her tight, form-fitting t-shirt and jeans. Once again, Louis never took his eyes off Claire's face as he politely said, "No, thank you."

The waitress' face fell as she skulked away, obviously not used to being rejected. Claire picked up her fork and gingerly tasted her selection. _It's not bad, but I've had better._ Before she could take another bite, Louis asked her solemnly, "What were your first thoughts as you walked into class the other day?"

The question startled Claire at first; she didn't want her answer to upset him. _I'd want him to be honest with me_, Claire reminded herself.

"Well, when I first saw you," Claire began, "I couldn't help but think about how beautiful you were. I know 'beautiful' probably isn't the right word…but that was how I saw you." Claire took another small bite, chewed, swallowed and took another drink of water. Louis waited patiently for her to continue. "Then as your eyes got darker, I began to feel afraid. But even more than that, I couldn't understand why you seemed to be so angry at me when we'd never even properly met." Claire stopped and looked deeply into Louis' molten eyes, searching for any sign of a reaction. She waited patiently, taking small bites here and there in an attempt to keep her composure.

Eventually, Louis sighed and very slowly, reached over to take Claire's hand. Claire slowly began extending her arm, to meet Louis' hand halfway. He gingerly took possession of her fingers, rubbing his thumb back and forth across her knuckles. Claire could feel the icy marble of his skin against hers, sending flashes of electricity through her veins. Claire shuddered internally as her heart pounded loudly in her ribcage. Louis' angelic face broke into a wide grin as he listened to her heart, which continued to dance frantically in response to his touch. Louis' smile did not vanish as he gently released her hand, and continued to listen as Claire's heart resumed a somewhat normal rhythm.

"Well, that was interesting," Louis announced casually.

"I'll say," Claire responded weakly.

Louis continued to smile as he asked, "Are you all right, Claire?" Claire hesitated for a moment, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she truthfully replied, "Yes, Louis. I'm fine."

Claire glanced down at her watch and groaned. It was a quarter after two, and she couldn't miss her class this afternoon, not after last time. Louis' smile faltered as he asked, "Is something the matter?"

"I'm sorry, Louis," Claire said repentantly. "I've got a class that I cannot miss. I hate to make this short, but I've already missed this class once, so I'm behind."

"Oh, all right," Louis replied, sounding quite sad. "I understand."

Claire's heart began to ache, seeing his gorgeous face fall into a mask of sorrow. Claire slowly extended her hand towards Louis, and watching his face, slowly slid her fingers into his waiting palm.

"I'm really sorry, Louis," Claire whispered fervently. "I completely forgot about it. Please don't think that I don't want to spend time with you, because I do." Claire paused as Louis' face brightened and a smile appeared, his eyes warming to an even brighter butterscotch. "I'd very much like to do something with you again, maybe tomorrow night," Claire suggested hopefully.

"I'd like that very much," Louis grinned. "Are you finished?"

"Yes, I'm ready," Claire answered as she watched Louis drop some money on the table and stand to help her out of the booth. As they left the restaurant, Louis placed his hand gently in the small of her back. The hostess scowled as they passed her, observing the way Louis' hand lingered around Claire's waist, no doubt. She did not even speak to them as they left.

Once they were outside and headed towards Louis' car, Claire remembered something.

"Louis?" Claire began.

"Hmm?" Louis responded, his eyebrows peaked in interest.

"You said you were going to show me something special after this," Claire reminded him.

"So I did," Louis acknowledged. "But since we've had to cut our date short (Claire's heart did a double-flip in her chest at the mention of the word 'date'), that will unfortunately have to be rescheduled." As they reached the car, Louis stepped around Claire to open her door. Just as Claire was about to get in the Mercedes, she turned back to Louis and asked, "You promise?"

Louis' eyes flashed with delight as he smiled slyly and answered, "Yes, Claire. I promise."

Claire gave Louis a radiant smile as she sat down and Louis shut her door. He loped gracefully to his side and got in. Starting the car, Louis continued to beam at Claire until she finally asked, "What are you so happy about?" Louis chuckled huskily and replied, "Can't I just be happy that you're with me?" Claire blushed furiously as they peeled out of the parking lot.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Louis sped towards Claire's apartment in silence. He didn't look angry; on the contrary, he looked positively buoyant. Claire was utterly content to simply be with Louis. Not knowing what to say that wouldn't ruin what had already been a perfect afternoon (except for the hostess and waitress at the restaurant, but that was pushed out of her mind as she recalled Louis' total inattentiveness towards them), Claire simply sat in a blissful silence, staring at Louis all the while.

Louis reached over and took Claire's hand, sending shivers through Claire's body and causing her heart to perform what felt like a version of Riverdance inside her ribcage. Louis simply chuckled quietly as he listened to it. They pulled into the parking lot of Claire's apartment building, sliding back into the space next to Claire's Mustang. Louis released Claire's hand and as he shut off the engine, Claire's heart began to resume a less frantic rhythm. Claire suddenly began to feel very anxious, not knowing exactly when she would see Louis again.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Claire said tentatively, breaking the silence. She looked at Louis, hoping to hear his sweet, melodic voice confirm her deepest desire.

"Most definitely," Louis replied, smiling serenely. "Tomorrow evening shall arise before you realize it."

"I know," Claire sighed, not wishing to get out of the car. She fidgeted with her keys and her purse, hoping to prolong their inevitable separation.

"What's bothering you, Claire?" Louis asked quietly. He sat beside her in absolute perfection, except for the slightest hint of agony flashing across his gorgeous visage.

"I just don't want you to leave," Claire confessed. "I get the feeling that if I don't hold onto you like hell, you'll vanish." Claire lowered her eyes and peeked up at Louis through her long eyelashes. Louis looked upon her with loving eyes and said, "Nothing could tear me away from you now. But, you're going to be late for your class if you don't get going."

Claire slowly lifted her head to meet Louis' gaze. A smile began to creep across her face as she realized that he was telling her the truth. She continued to sit and stare at his Adonis-like features, not wishing to leave his intoxicating presence.

"It seems like a long time to you, doesn't it?" Louis finally asked her, breaking Claire's concentration. She had been thoroughly memorizing every detail of Louis' incredible face. She merely nodded her head, lowering her eyes from his intense gaze.

"I'll tell you what," Louis began, "how about I drive you to your class this afternoon? And afterwards, we might be able to do something else together. How does that sound?"

Claire perked up immediately at the proposition of being with Louis again. She sat up straighter and looking into Louis' mesmerizing eyes, she replied, "I'd love that! Hold on just a second; I need the notebook out of my car."

Claire hopped out of the car and ran the few feet to her Mustang, unlocking the door and wrenching it open. She quickly grabbed her school bag and locked the car again. She sprinted back to Louis' Mercedes, throwing herself into the passenger seat. Beaming at Louis, she breathed, "Okay, I'm ready." Louis nodded his head and restarted the engine, smiling. They raced back through town, stunning the few bystanders hanging around. Louis wheeled back into the school parking lot, screeching to a halt in front of the doors to the lecture halls.

He turned to Claire and said, "Well, you better get in there. Don't want to be late again." Louis chuckled slightly. _Probably remembering this morning_, Claire thought to herself.

"So…" Claire stalled. "I'll see you here after a bit?" She gazed at Louis, hopeful his answer hadn't changed.

"Yes, Claire," Louis assured her. "I'll see you shortly."

Claire gathered her book bag and purse, pausing just as she was about to open the door. She turned back to Louis to find him staring at her intently. He reached his hand up and very lightly, brushed his thumb up and down her jaw line, pausing to tuck a small lock of her ebony hair behind her ear. Her skin felt so cold it almost felt like fire; his arm trailed down her bare arm to her hand, which Louis picked up and brought to his mouth. Claire looked at her hand and back at Louis with misty eyes. Louis bent his head down to her hand and lightly pressed his icy lips to her warm, russet skin. An electric shock coursed through her body as he lifted his head, still holding her hand. Louis leaned toward her, breathing onto her face and whispered, "Adieu, ma chérie."

Louis dropped her hand and reached around her to open the door. She stumbled out of the car in a fog, shaking her head slightly to try and clear her mind. Claire turned around to grin sheepishly at Louis, to find him grinning right back at her. She waved as she smiled, then turned back around to head into the building. Just as Claire reached the entrance, she heard the car door shut behind her. She turned to wave one more time, and as she did, Louis gunned the engine and peeled out, leaving black tire treads and a cloud of smoke behind.

With the slightly nauseating smell of burnt rubber in her nose, Claire entered the building, having to once more sprint to her next lesson. She slid around the last corner just as the professor emerged from the teacher's lounge, down at the other end of the hallway. Claire rushed into the classroom to take her seat, settling down just as the professor entered the room to begin the lesson.

Claire attempted to focus on the lesson with little to no avail. Louis continued to cloud her mind, and soon she was daydreaming and doodling in her notebook. She continued to listen half-heartedly to the professor ramble on about the day's lesson, but did not retain any of the information the teacher was attempting to convey. The class continued to drone on and on until finally, the professor dismissed them. Claire hurriedly gathered her books and pushed through the throng of students, all attempting to escape the confines of the classroom. Claire clawed her way to the front of the pack, dismissing the angry outbursts from her fellow classmates. She jogged ahead of the sea of bodies in an attempt to break free of the institution of higher learning. She finally turned the last corner and the doors to freedom came into view.

Claire began to slow, anxiety building in her chest with every step. _What if he's not there?_ Claire thought to herself. Her optimistic heart, on the other hand, fought valiantly against the dark tide of emotions swirling inside her. _He promised he'd be here. He's been honest thus far; why would he start lying now?_ She continued to wrestle with her feelings as she stepped through the doors, pausing just outside to take a look around. Her eyes quickly found their quarry, sitting so still he could have been a statue.

Louis was lounging against the hood of his car, waiting for her. Claire's feet began to move forward almost unconsciously; the black waters of her dark feelings evaporating to be replaced with a clear, sunny disposition. A smile lit up her face as Louis gazed at her, waiting patiently. Louis stood up as Claire was drawn to his side and looked into his phenomenal eyes. Louis slowly lifted his arm and using the back of his hand, brushed Claire's cheek gently, sending tingling bursts of energy throughout her body. Claire's heart jumped into her throat as Louis drew his face closer to hers and inhaled deeply. Being careful not to move suddenly, Claire tried to concentrate on remembering to breathe. Louis pulled back as Claire's eyes opened slowly.

A smile crossed his face as he said, "Hi there." He chuckled slightly as Claire gulped some air and managed to squeak out, "Hi."

"Shall we?" Louis asked. He politely tugged on her arm to break the trance and led her to the passenger side, opening the door. Claire slid into the seat as Louis loped around the car. He hopped in and started the engine as he said, "And now, we're off to pursue that flighty temptress: adventure."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

They raced into the evening, the darkness becoming more pronounced. Claire felt completely at ease, not caring that she sat next to a potentially dangerous being. She knew, deep down to her soul, that Louis would never harm her. His eyes were an even lighter shade of butterscotch than when he dropped her off just a short while ago. Claire gazed upon Louis' magnificence, utterly in awe of his simple yet mesmerizing beauty. Louis glanced over at her just then, studying her face intently as she continued to stare at him.

"What?" Louis asked her gently. "Do I have something on my face?"

Claire's laughter burst out of her so easily, it surprised her. Trying to suppress the fit of giggles bubbling from inside her, she said, "No, it's nothing like that. I just can't seem to stop looking at your face. It's unbelievably handsome."

Louis turned his attention back to the road, attempting to hide a smile.

"So, where did you go while I was in class?" Claire questioned.

Louis paused, looking back at Claire with a hesitant expression. She stared right back at him, her face beginning to soften into a mask of compassion and understanding.

"Louis," Claire began, "I know that you really haven't had anybody to talk freely with in a long time. I'd like you to feel like you could be honest with me. I grew up with the Quileute legends, albeit I didn't realize how much truth the tales held until recently. I can take weird." Claire paused to allow Louis to consider her plea. Louis looked away from Claire as he brought the car to a halt. Claire hadn't been paying attention to where they were headed until now and she realized that they were sitting in front of Jacob and Renesmee's house. She looked back at Louis, her eyes honest and wide, pleading, "Please tell me. Don't be worried about frightening me or anything. I feel very safe with you."

Louis slowly reached up and cut the engine, which deepened the silence that lay thick in the atmosphere around them. He heaved a great sigh and said, "Very well, Claire. I went hunting."

"Why was that a big deal?" Claire wondered.

"I am taking every possible precaution I can when I am around you: feeding more frequently, mainly. I can't ever lose my focus when I'm with you," Louis explained slowly. Claire's breathing and heart rate increased slightly as Louis spoke, a sign that he didn't miss. "Are you afraid?" Louis demanded softly. Louis' eyes were full of sadness, almost as if he were afraid of her answer. Claire slowly regained her composure, slowing down her breathing and her heart before she answered.

"No Louis, I'm not." Claire's response rang clearly, truthfulness hanging on every syllable. The honesty in her eyes burned passionately, burrowing deep into Louis' golden ones, trying to impress her feelings deep into his soul. Louis seemed to relax and brighten up as they continued to gaze at one another. Claire, hating to break the silent connection between them, finally looked away and asked, "So, what are we doing here?" Louis smirked slightly and said, "Nessie and Jake wanted to hang out, and so I figured 'Why not?'"

"All right, shall we head in?" Claire asked, reaching for her door handle.

"Don't you dare," Louis playfully threatened, a very quiet growl rising from his chest through a big smile. Claire grinned back and as she placed her hand back in her lap, she felt Louis get out of the car and shut his door. Less than half a second later, he was on her side of the car, opening her door. He offered his hand, which Claire took quickly, eager to touch his cool marble skin once more. She got out of the car and held Louis' hand as they made their way to the house. As they were climbing the stairs onto the porch, the front door swung open. An extremely tall, burly yet lean and toned, handsome young man with long, black hair pulled into a ponytail, dark russet skin, with a pair of cut-off jean shorts, no shirt and bare feet dusted with dirt filled the doorframe.

"Hey guys," Jacob said lightly, his face positively beaming. "We've been waiting for you,"

"My apologies, Jacob," Louis answered with a hint of sarcastic sympathy. "Claire decided to play '20 Questions' on the way over." Louis looked at Claire lovingly, as she glanced down in a slight position of embarrassment. Louis pulled her close with his arm around her shoulder, touching his cheek to her forehead.

"Well, you better come inside before Nessie decides to take a piece out of ya," Jacob chided playfully, a hearty chuckle rumbling from deep in his throat. Louis also trembled slightly with laughter while Claire merely smiled half-heartedly. _This will take some getting used to_, Claire thought to herself. Louis lifted his head and dropped his arm from around her, picking up her hand as his fell to his side. They followed Jacob into the house, through the tiny but beautifully decorated sitting room, whereas they were passing through into the dining room, they heard a lightly melodic voice ring out, "Are they here yet?

Jacob led them into the kitchen where they found Renesmee; her beautiful bronze curls were pinned up, stray hairs popping out like a halo around her head. She had on an apron, standing in front of a large modern countertop filled with various plates and bowls of meat, herbs and spices, sides of vegetables, and dry pasta, with pots of boiling water and sizzling oil heating on the stovetop behind her. She had a delighted, yet exasperated, look on her face, her eyes a deep chocolate.

"Good, you're here," Nessie breathed. She walked around the edge of the countertop as Jacob gathered her to his side, kissing her forehead lightly. "I was hoping that you weren't going to be late for dinner. Luckily, you've got Louis now to make sure that you're on time, Claire." Everybody laughed lightly, and Claire began to relax. Renesmee left Jake's side to gather Claire into a hug, squeezing tightly, but not enough to harm her. "I'm so glad he talked you into this." Claire gaped at Renesmee and then at Louis in disbelief. Louis glared at Renesmee playfully and then looked sheepishly at Claire.

"I couldn't help it," Louis stated simply, not bothering to sound apologetic. "I crave your company too much. We're selfish creatures by nature." A wide smirk flashed across his gorgeous visage and Claire's heart leapt a few feet up into her throat. Everyone laughed again, including Claire after a few moments. She remembered that everyone but her could hear even the quietest sound due to their extra "talents". Renesmee walked back over to the stove and began preparing dinner. Claire hung around the kitchen, helping Renesmee cook. Jacob and Louis quietly left the room to give them some privacy. As soon as the men were out of the room, Renesmee began pressuring Claire for details about her afternoon with Louis.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"So, where did you go after class?" Nessie demanded.

Claire heaved a great sigh and resigned herself to spilling her guts. "He picked me up and we went to the Mexican place in town. We were supposed to go somewhere else after lunch, but I remembered my afternoon class, so we're gonna do that some other time." Claire paused for a moment, absent-mindedly stirring a pot of pasta in boiling water. Renesmee continued hounding Claire for information.

"What did you two talk about?" Nessie asked impatiently. Claire paused again, not wishing to ruin how she felt about this afternoon by retelling the story over and over, even to her best friend. Renesmee reached over to gently touch Claire's arm and as she did, a brilliant image popped into her head, causing her to close her eyes. Claire saw Renesmee pacing on the porch attached to her house. She looked worried, never ceasing to move until Jacob's strong hands came from behind her, reaching around her shoulders and closing in front of her chest. He leaned close to Renesmee's ear and whispered, "She'll be all right, Nessie."

Claire's eyes fluttered open as Renesmee's hot palm moved from her arm to her shoulder. She looked over at Renesmee with a confused expression on her face. "What were you so worried about?" Claire wondered intensely.

"I knew that this would be a turning point for you two," Renesmee explained. "I was just afraid that he might not bring you back."

"Oh," Claire managed to say. "Thank you for worrying about me, Nessie," Claire continued on. "I'm glad that I've got you to help look after me." Claire looked up to Renesmee like a big sister, and tried to impress that feeling upon her through the very tight squeeze Claire was now applying to Nessie's hand. She squeezed with all her might, yet Renesmee's skin remained firm. They stopped talking for a while so they could finish making dinner. A few minutes later, Jake popped his head around the corner and inhaled deeply.

"Smells good, you guys," Jacob laughed. "Claire, I'm sure glad you're here to keep Nessie from burning the place down."

Claire chuckled as Renesmee picked up a very long, sharp knife and heaved it towards Jacob. It stuck in the doorframe right next to Jake's head with a loud **thwack** and Jacob's grin broadened across his face. Nessie let a soft growl slip between her teeth, lips pulled back in a snarl.

"Watch it, Red, or we might have to tussle later," Renesmee hissed.

Jake laughed heartily and as he pulled the knife out of the wall, he walked over to the counter, setting down the knife and putting an arm around Renesmee, whose growl had died to a hiss, kissed her forehead and said, "I look forward to it." Renesmee cracked a smile and laughed, kissing Jacob on the lips and then on the nose, replying, "Well, get as much energy saved up as you can. You're gonna need it."

Then, Louis strode into the room, taking Claire's breath away. He went over to Claire and put his arm around her, his hand icy compared to the heat coming off the stove. Kissing the top of her forehead, he asked, "So how are things coming?"

"Well, dinner for us is ready," Claire said. "You've already eaten."

"Quite so," Louis agreed, chuckling slightly.

Renesmee fixed Claire and Jacob a heaping plate of pasta with sauce, while she had a much smaller plate of the same and a large, extremely rare piece of meat. They all sat in the dining room, coupled off, Jake and Nessie on one side, Louis and Claire on another. The three with plates ate in silence, Louis watching Claire with a curious expression. After a while, Claire finally broke the silence.

"So, Nessie, I hope you don't mind my asking, but how are you able to eat human food?" Claire inquired.

Both Jacob and Renesmee laughed, as did Louis, only not as loudly. Still chuckling, Renesmee began to speak. "Sorry for laughing, but the look on your face when you asked was priceless! I haven't had to explain this for a while. Anyway, since I'm half-vampire/half-human, I can eat and digest human food just like you do. However, I prefer blood to food. I will eat small portions of human food along with my 'vegetarian' diet to dispel any suspicions about me that might arise." Renesmee continued picking at her food, taking small bites of different things, making a slight face when she swallowed.

"How often do you hunt?" Claire pressed her for more information. Nessie gave Jake a look and then looked back at Claire. Before she could open her mouth, Claire interjected.

"I am only asking so that I might know more about you. I'd like to understand anything that I can about you." Claire put on a pout, emphasizing her full lips by sticking out her bottom one as far as she could. Looking up at Nessie with puppy-dog eyes, Renesmee finally groaned, shrugged her shoulders and conceded.

"All right, all right; I, personally, hunt two or three times a week. Since I also eat human food, not very much, but enough for show, I have to supplement that with more blood. My parents only hunt maybe once every two weeks."

"Wow," was all Claire could manage to squeak out. Slowly she turned to Louis and asked, "And you?"

Louis looked at her ruefully, before answering slowly, "I used to hunt about the same as Bella and Edward – once every two weeks. That's usually about as long as even the oldest of us can go without weakening to some degree."

Claire looked back at Renesmee and asked, "Do you hunt alone?"

"I've never hunted alone, although I'm more than capable of doing so," Nessie replied, looking over at Jake with a teasing expression. Jake grinned wildly as Renesmee looked back at Claire and added, "Jake likes to run with me."

"Oh, well that sounds cool. I wish I could experience running like that. I did track back in high school and had a blast," Claire remarked, remembering the thrill of sprinting around a course.

"Perhaps you'd like me to take you running sometime?" Louis offered. Claire turned to beam at him and exclaimed, "That'd be great, Louis." Claire reached her hand over the table to take his, rubbing the warm pad of her thumb over the icy marble that was Louis' skin. They finished eating and as Jacob and Louis headed out back to sit on the porch, Claire helped Renesmee with the dishes. Nessie smiled at her and grinned, "You don't have to help me, ya know."

"Yes, I do," Claire shot back. "I helped make the mess, so I've gotta help clean it up."

"No really, its okay," Renesmee consoled her. "Sit back and watch this." Claire sat in a stool in front of the counter, watching Renesmee. She darted from corner to corner in a flash; bronze curls were the only thing that Claire could keep track of. She briefly heard water running, an appliance door opening and closing, a flash of bronze around the room and then……Renesmee was standing behind Claire, tapping her shoulder. Claire jumped and screamed loudly, clamping her hands over her mouth, muffling the sound. Her chest heaving, Claire turned around and slapped Renesmee on the arm as hard as she could. Nessie didn't even flinch.

"Don't do that to me, dammit. You almost scared the life out of me," Claire chided. Nessie was laughing raucously when Louis and Jacob opened the back door and Jake asked, "She try to take a bite out of ya, Claire?"

Her breathing starting to slow, Claire turned toward the doorway and replied, "No, she was showing off and decided to scare me as well." Jacob laughed as he came in the door, gathering Renesmee into a bear hug and swinging her around. Louis followed Jake inside, standing next to Claire with an amused look on his face.

"So……" Jacob said, breaking the silence. "You feel like going for a run?" Jake looked at Nessie, who simply nodded her head. Looking towards Louis, Jake asked, "So how about it, you two? You up for it?"

"Thank you for the invitation, but we must regretfully decline," Louis answered formally. "I have to get Claire home before sunrise." Claire looked at the clock on the wall, surprised how late it was. She jumped up and said, "Yeah, I've still got research I gotta do. Rain check on the run?"

Renesmee came over and gave Claire a big hug, squeezing just a little too tightly. "Absolutely, Claire," Jake answered. Jacob led the way back to the front of the house and said, "Any time you want to come over, you're more than welcome."

"Thanks, Jake," Claire replied, hugging Jake as she passed him. Louis shook hands with Jake, gave Renesmee a hug, and took Claire's hand as they went down the steps. Claire waved at Nessie and Jake, who were standing on the porch, watching them leave. Louis opened her door and Claire got in. Louis said something to Nessie before he got in, but Claire couldn't hear what had been said. Louis got in the Mercedes and started it up, carefully turning out of the yard before hitting the gas. The car shot forward into the night, flying around near-blind turns at breakneck speed. Even though she should have been terrified, Claire was in a state of pure happiness.

Electricity coursed through her body as she and Louis held hands in the dark, the air thick with static. In record time, Claire was sitting in front of her apartment building.

"Shall I walk you up?" Louis asked sweetly.

"No, I can manage," Claire replied, trying to sound sure of her answer, but failing miserably.

"Stay right there," Louis instructed. He dashed out of the car and flashed to her side, whipping open the door. He politely offered his hand, which she eagerly took. Holding her hand, Louis silently walked Claire to her door and it wasn't until she began to reach for her keys that she realized something.

"How did you know which was mine?" Claire turned to him and asked. Louis looked at her and arched one of his eyebrows, like he expected her to know. Only after she thought about it for a moment did Claire realize how he did it.

"Oh, my scent," Claire spoke aloud, blushing slightly.

"Please don't be embarrassed," Louis whispered. "I could not restrain myself from it. I very much like the way you smell."

"That's both good and bad though, right?" Claire asked.

"Unfortunately yes," Louis conceded. "But enough of that talk. It is time for you to get some rest."

"What about you?" Claire demanded softly.

"I'll be nearby, if it makes you feel any better," Louis added.

"That kinda helps," Claire agreed. "Well, I guess this is good night." Claire fiddled with her keys, hoping for another touch, no matter how small or brief. Louis took another step towards Claire, inhaling deeply as he did so. Her body tensed with anticipation as Louis lifted his hand to her face. Pulling her chin up so her eyes met his, Louis leaned close, his nose half an inch away from her face and whispered, "Bon nuit, ma chérie."

Louis' cool, sweet breath misted over her face, as Louis brought her hand up to his icy lips and pressed them against her warm skin. He slowly turned her hand over and inhaled deeply at her wrist. "Mmm…" Louis murmured softly. Louis looked up into Claire's eyes and reaching up to brush his fingertips lightly against her cheek, he said, "Until tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Claire agreed, dazed still by Louis' intoxicating presence. Unlocking her door, Claire turned back to say goodnight to Louis, but was surprised to find he had vanished. Disappointed, Claire whispered "Good night" aloud and turned to head inside. As she turned around, she heard Louis' voice whisper "Sweet dreams," as though he were right behind her.

Claire smiled as she floated inside, disregarding the mound of homework she had piling up and went straight to her room. After she changed and got settled in bed, Claire began to feel the presence again. This time she remembered that Louis would be close by and that put her mind at ease. She closed her eyes to sleep, hoping to see Louis in his magnificence, ready to keep her company even in her dreams.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Claire awoke to the sound of the front door slamming. Jerking upright, she glanced at the clock beside her bed to see that it was just after 7:00 in the morning. Her roommate had just left for the day. Claire stretched and groaned as she looked into the corner of her room where her desk was piled with various textbooks and papers, silently tormenting her as they sat in a pile of disarray. Claire resigned her morning to catching up on the homework she had been neglecting, consumed with feelings of blissful happiness since Louis had captivated her soul such a short time ago. Claire couldn't help think about how it seemed almost impossible for her to be so star-struck. _I've heard of love at first sight_, Claire thought, _but what's a girl to do when her Romeo is a vampire?_

Claire sat on her bed, meditating on her feelings, her eyes closed. _I have never been more content with my life than I am right now_, Claire admitted silently. _My life feels so complete now that I have Louis._ But the thought of Louis also brought up memories with Quil. She began to realize that she cared more for Quil than she originally thought. _Quil's always been there for me_, Claire thought, internally battling with her emotions. _I know him better than I know my own father_. Claire's father left her mother shortly after she was born. Most of her fondest memories were of her and Quil doing things together: her first bike riding lesson, her first swimming lesson, her first driving lesson; cliff diving at La Push, hiking with their friends – mostly Jake, Nessie, Embry and Kim. _Quil is my best friend, next to Renesmee_, Claire debated internally. _I love him like a brother, and I always will._

Claire's even breathing began to quicken as her thoughts turned back to Louis. _His smile makes me melt_, Claire admitted, absolutely smitten. _His voice is like liquid velvet; the deep pools of molten gold that peer into my soul are undeniably captivating._ And then came a stray thought: What if Louis ever left? _No, he wouldn't do that,_ Claire assured herself fervently. _I couldn't bear to be without him._ Just thinking about not having Louis in her life anymore caused her great pain, her heart aching from deep within. _Just because he's a vampire doesn't mean he is incapable of love,_ Claire screamed aloud inside her mind; and just then, something inside clicked into place. _I know that Louis won't ever hurt me, even though he is more than capable of doing so,_ Claire thought to herself. _And I couldn't bear to live without him_. She opened her eyes as she realized that she didn't care what he was. He was Louis, soft-spoken and undeniably charming, her own personal angel, and she loved him with every fiber of her being.

Claire stood and stretched, went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, then grabbed an apple and a large glass of milk, and headed back to her room. Sitting at her desk, she began to separate her mound of homework. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table, realizing she had spent an hour and a half in meditation. She used a remote to turn on her stereo across the room from which emanated the thunderous drumbeats and blazing guitars of one of her favorite bands. She pulled one of her textbooks towards her and got started.

The time passed quickly as she worked diligently on her various course assignments. After a few hours, Claire threw down her pen, thankfully caught up with all her studies. Glancing at the clock, she turned off the stereo, stood and stretched, groaning and cracking her knuckles to relax the muscles of her cramped hands. Noticing it was around lunchtime, Claire took her empty glass to the kitchen and grabbing some of her roommate's leftover pizza, picked up the phone and dialed Renesmee's number. The line rang a few times before someone picked up.

"Hello?" a husky male voice answered.

"Hey Jake, its Claire."

"Oh, hey. What's up?" Jake asked.

"Well, I was wanting to talk to Nessie, if she's around," Claire explained.

"Yeah, she's here," Jake replied. "Hold on a minute."

Claire waited as on the other end, she heard Jacob call for Renesmee loudly. A few moments later, Nessie's light musical voice said, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," Claire gasped, thankful that she was home.

"Hey babe, what are you up to this morning?" Renesmee inquired.

"I just got done catching up on all my homework," Claire explained.

"Bummer," Nessie complained. "So what's up?"

"Well, I was calling to see if you had Louis' number," Claire said.

"Ooooh…" Renesmee cooed, laughing slightly.

"Shut up," Claire exclaimed happily. "Do you have it or not?"

"Yeah, I've got it," Nessie conceded. "What are you gonna do with it if I give it to you?"

"I'm gonna call him and see if he wants to do anything this afternoon," Claire slowly explained.

"Aww……" Nessie sighed playfully.

"If you don't shut up and give me Louis' number right now…" Claire threatened, only being half-serious.

"All right, girl. Jeez, can't you take a joke?" Nessie asked.

"Not if you don't give me his number," Claire shot back.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. You got a pen?" Nessie questioned. Claire ran back to her room, grabbing her pen and a spare piece of paper, scribbling down Louis' number sloppily as Renesmee read it to her.

"Thanks, Nessie," Claire sighed gratefully.

"Not a problem, babe. Have fun, okay?"

"We will," Claire assured her. "See ya later."

"Bye," Nessie said and then hung up. Claire quickly dialed Louis' number, her heart already beginning to race. After a few rings, a female voice answered, "Hello?"

"Oh," Claire exclaimed. "I may have dialed the wrong number. I'm looking for Louis?"

"You have the correct number, my dear," the sweet female voice responded. "I am Louis' cousin Tanya, from Denali."

"Okay, I've heard about you from Renesmee. This is Claire."

"I see. Hold on just a moment, please," Tanya asked.

A few moments of silence passed, and then she heard her favorite sound in the world. "Claire?" Louis asked.

"Yeah, it's me," Claire confirmed. "I got your number from Renesmee. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's all right," Louis assured her. "I forgot to give it to you last night."

"Great. Well, I was calling to see if you were free this afternoon," Claire explained.

"I am most certainly available, chérie," Louis confirmed. "Did you have something in mind?"

"Well, I was hoping we could pick up from our date yesterday. I want to see whatever it is that you wanted to show me," Claire requested.

"Most definitely. Today would be perfect," Louis concurred. "Give me just a little while and I'll pick you up."

"Great, I'll see you in a bit," Claire exclaimed.

"See you soon," Louis said sweetly, and he hung up the phone.

Claire put the phone down and began to rush around her apartment. She ran back to her room desperately trying to find something decent to wear. After a few minutes of searching, she finally gave up and settled on her favorite pair of skinny jeans and a dark blue, form-fitting shirt. She grabbed her undergarments and flew into the bathroom to take a shower. Claire allowed the hot water to run all over her body, relaxing her already tense muscles. She hastily washed her hair and her body, rinsed clean and shut the water off.

Stepping out of the shower, she quickly dried off and jumped into her clothes. As she was pulling a brush through her hair, there was a knock at the door. Her body tensed with excitement as she took a few deep breaths, gave up on her hair and pulled it into a ponytail. Rushing from the bathroom, she flew to the front door and wrenched it open. Claire's breath caught in her chest as she gazed at her angel. His golden eyes bright with excitement, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you ready?" Louis inquired, his musical voice quivering.

"Yes, I'll just get my purse," Claire breathed. She left the door open as she dashed back to her room, grabbed her handbag and her keys, and then darted back to the front door. "Ready," she announced. Claire stepped outside, locked her door and took Louis' hand as they headed down to the parking lot. Claire kept her eyes on Louis, memorizing him by heart. Louis glanced over at her and smiled. She grinned back and asked, "So where are we going?"

"Someplace very special," Louis answered cryptically. He opened her door when they arrived at the Mercedes and before she got in, he said, "You look wonderful." Claire blushed deeply, said "Thanks" and got in the car. Louis strolled around the car at a very human pace and got in. He started the engine and peeled out of the parking lot, heading towards the forest on the edge of town.

"So what exactly are we doing?" Claire inquired.

"We're going to take a walk in the woods, if that's all right," Louis explained.

"Yeah, I'm up for it," Claire agreed, thankful she had worn jeans. Louis continued to hold her hand as they raced through town, a few pedestrians gazing after them incredulously. They reached the edge of the forest and plunged into semi-darkness, the sun struggling to peek through the thick canopy.

Louis drove a few more miles and then pulled off to the side, where the trailhead began. Claire glanced around and said, "I know this area a little bit. I used to walk these trails a lot."

"Well, we're roughing it today," Louis replied lightly as he got out of the car. He walked over to Claire's side, opened the door and offered his hand. She took it eagerly and looking deep into Louis' golden eyes, she sighed, "I'm up for anything as long as you're with me."

Louis smiled brightly and gazed back into Claire's eyes until she felt her knees go weak. Louis stepped closer to her, supporting her entire weight against his marble body. He inhaled deeply and helped her to stand straight, their bodies still touching. Finally, much to Claire's reluctance, Louis took a step back, breaking the contact between their bodies. Slowly, Louis began to walk backwards, toward the solitude of the trees, beckoning her forward.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Claire followed Louis as he made his way through the dense underbrush. She gracefully climbed over thick tree roots, fallen logs and a number of smaller trees, trying to reach toward the sun above the canopy. Every once in a while, Louis would take her hand. As always, Louis' hand felt cold as ice, yet hard as marble. Louis questioned Claire constantly, wanting to know about every little thing in and about her life: her favorite color, flower, gemstone, and her family.

"Can I ask you a question?" Claire asked timidly.

"You may ask anything you like," Louis responded honestly.

"How old are you?" Claire wondered. Louis smiled and answered, "Twenty-four."

"Okay, how long ago were you changed?" Claire inquired.

"Oh, you were wanting to know how long I've been around," Louis realized with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking. I was from Louisiana, back when it was still a French colony in the 1790s."

"Oh wow," Claire gasped.

"I'm sorry," Louis replied hastily, taking in the wondrous look on Claire's face. "I didn't mean for that to shock you."

"No, I'm all right," Claire replied earnestly. "It just took a minute to sink in. I was just thinking about all the things you have had to see in your……existence."

"Yes, I suppose that would be slightly daunting," Louis responded, his accent slightly more pronounced, knowing he was able to relax a little around her and show his true nature.

As they continued to trek through the forest, Claire noticed the trees beginning to get thinner, less dense. Soon she was staring at a beautiful forest glen with a gap in the canopy, showering the forest floor with warm sunlight. Claire released Louis' hand to stroll into the glen, gazing around at the glory of the Alaskan wilderness. For a few moments, Claire was so engrossed by her surroundings, she forgot about Louis, waiting in the shadows. She beckoned him forward with a shy smile, and watched as he unbuttoned his shirt slowly and let it hang open. Looking back at her, Louis took a few deep breaths and stepped out into the pale sunlight.

Claire's breath was caught in her chest as Louis stepped into the edge of the glen. Louis, immortal duplicate of a Greek god, his pale skin exposed to the sun, was an enthralling vision. Where the sun touched his alabaster magnificence, it seemed there were sparkles coming from within, almost prismatic. Seeing Louis in the sunlight was the single, most beautifully unbelievable image that Claire had ever laid her eyes upon. Louis continued to stroll casually toward Claire, and Claire found herself moving toward him slowly, almost unconsciously. As they met in the middle of the clearing, Louis slowly began to raise his hand, so as not to shock Claire, and tenderly cupped her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her warm flesh.

"Does this bother you?" Louis asked hesitantly. Claire had to remember how to breathe, her lungs grateful for the gasp of air that escaped before she responded, "No……I don't mind."

Slowly, never taking his eyes off hers, Louis gently guided her to sit down next to him. The forest floor was cool, but Louis' touch was icy, so cold that where his skin touched hers, Claire felt as though she had been burned, but no pain accompanied the sensation. As they continued to gaze at one another, Louis' expression seemed to go through many changes.

"Is anything wrong?" Claire asked.

"This is wrong, being along with you like this. Yet I cannot bring myself to be apart from you," Louis confessed. "You can't even begin to imagine how it feels to finally be able to find someone you just feel so right about being around, but also knowing that you could so easily harm them if you lost any degree of control."

"No, I suppose I wouldn't know," Claire answered honestly.

Louis and Claire sat in silence briefly. Before long, the sun re-emerged from behind the clouds. As the sunlight hit Louis' skin and shattered into a thousand prismatic sparkles, Louis lay back onto the grass and closed his eyes. His pale lavender eyelids looking so delicate, were almost too compelling to touch. Claire's hand seemed to be drawn towards Louis' skin, and as she slowly reached toward his exposed forearm, she hesitated, looking at his face. After a moment, Claire lightly traced her finger over the contours of his perfectly chiseled muscles. Glancing up, Claire saw Louis' eyes were open, gazing at her.

"Does this bother you?" Claire inquired. Louis smiled sweetly, closing his eyes as he let his head rest on the ground, and replied, "No, chérie. You wouldn't believe how wonderful that feeling is. To have that warmth so close is……almost too tempting to ignore." The smile on his face was seductive, yet wary. As Claire continued to trail her fingers over his magnificent form, Louis lay perfectly still, a constant reminder of his true identity.

Claire, moving slowly, sat back on her elbow and scooted towards Louis. Realizing what Claire was wanting, Louis lifted his arm to allow her to snuggle close to his majestic body. Claire carefully placed her head on Louis' shoulder, inhaling deeply. His shirt smelled of something heavenly, yet Claire could not put her finger on exactly what the fragrance was: a hint of jasmine, fresh linens, a touch of freesia and a light spritz of citrus. The aroma was intoxicating. Louis, his arm around her shoulder, pulled Claire closer.

"Tell me about some of the places you've seen, Louis," Claire requested softly, looking down as she fiddled with a button on his shirt.

Louis' hand smoothed her hair as he retorted, "I used to travel a great deal until I found Tanya's family."

"Where did you go?" Claire inquired gently.

"Europe, mostly; wandering through the countryside, by night of course, searching for others like myself," Louis explained, his angelic voice turning bitter.

"What happened?" Claire whispered, looking up to see Louis' face twisted into a mask of anger, which then melted to sorrow and regret.

"That bad, huh?" Claire guessed quietly.

"Yes, it was that bad," Louis finally managed to whisper, his body trembling slightly.

Claire slowly reached for Louis' other icy hand, grasped it and pulled it up to her chest, laying it palm-down directly over her heart. Breathing very deliberately, Claire concentrated on keeping her heart rate steady, hoping it would help to calm Louis. _I didn't mean to upset him_, Claire thought fiercely. Louis' trembling began to subside as Claire focused on remaining clam, keeping her heartbeat stable. Slowly, Louis' hand moved from her chest to her chin, pulling upwards so that their eyes met. Louis' eyes were full of sorrow, and it pained Claire deeply to see him so vulnerable.

"Forgive me, chérie," Louis whispered. "I have not spoken of these things in a very long time."

"I didn't mean to upset you, Louis," Claire said honestly.

"Oh I know," Louis replied softly. "But thank you."

"For what?" Claire inquired.

"This," Louis stated simply. He lifted his hand and placed it directly over her heart again. Claire's heart jumped at his glacial touch and began to thump erratically. Louis smiled sweetly as Claire's heart began to slow again, soothed by Louis' presence.

"Ah…" Louis sighed, allowing his hand to drop back to his side.

"What's the matter?" Claire wondered. Louis gazed at Claire and replied, "I should get you back home. Someone might come looking for you."

"Let them look," Claire retorted. "I'm allowed to have a private life."

"Yes," Louis agreed. "But it could still be dangerous for us to be alone together for too long. Knowing what I'm capable of, I would never forgive myself if I were to ever hurt you."

"You won't hurt me, Louis," Claire reassured him. "I know you won't." Louis looked at Claire lovingly and said, "Thank you, Claire. You have much more faith in me than I realized. I only hope that I'm strong enough to maintain it."

Louis helped Claire back through the forest toward the trailhead where they'd left Louis' car. They hadn't gone too far when Louis stopped her and asked, "Do you still want to see how we run?"

"Oh yeah, that sounds awesome," Claire exclaimed. Louis brightened up as he took Claire's arm and gingerly swung her onto his back. "Hold on tight," Louis instructed. Claire hooked her arms and legs around Louis' stone form, resting her chin on Louis' shoulder.

"Here we go," Louis laughed. And then they were flying through the forest, trees whipping past them in the blink of an eye. Claire struggled to keep her eyes open, but the disorientation finally forced her to tuck her face into Louis' frosty neck. She could feel Louis' legs moving under her, yet the motion was so fluid it didn't seem possible that he was running. The only give-away was the crisp snap of air as they rushed through the forest, darting through gaps in the foliage. A few moments later, Louis stopped and whispered, "We're here, chérie."

Claire opened her eyes and glanced around quickly as Louis detangled her arms and legs from their death lock around his body. Her muscles stiff from squeezing Louis so tightly while he was running, Claire stretched out as Louis watched.

"So…how was it?" Louis asked, chuckling slightly.

"Exhilarating……but disorienting," Claire replied honestly.

Louis took Claire's hand and led her to the Mercedes. As Louis helped Claire into the car, his hand lingered upon her exposed neck and throat, his fingers brushing against her face. As soon as Louis shut her door, he was instantly opening his. After he started the car, his hand reached over to take hers, his cool skin sending a delicious shiver down Claire's spine. As they headed back towards her apartment, Claire began to ask some more questions about Louis' past.

"So how did you come to be like this?" Claire inquired gently.

"Well, I suppose it was due to my maker's loneliness. That is usually the main reason," Louis answered honestly.

"But how did you become a Cullen?" Claire asked. "Renesmee said that you were, like, Carlisle's nephew."

"Yes that is what we say," Louis chuckled darkly. "I was not always a 'vegetarian', although I tried to live like that right after I had been changed." Louis stopped and sighed heavily. "It was a hard road that brought me to Carlisle. After some extremely difficult events I was forced to endure, I eventually stopped feeding and wandered through the wilderness for many years."

"Is that how you came to meet Carlisle and his family?" Claire prodded gently, not wishing his musical voice to be silent.

"Well, I met their extended family, the Denali clan. That's where I realized there were others like me who wished to be different, to………not be as others saw us, but rise above the natural urge that is our horrible curse."

Claire sat silently for a few moments, gently stroking her thumb again Louis' skin, attempting to console him. They had reached the parking lot of Claire's apartments, where Louis pulled into an empty spot. Louis squeezed her hand lightly as he said, "I hate the thought of leaving you," Louis confessed. "It makes me nervous not to be near you."

"Then why don't you stay?" Claire offered. "Would you like to come inside?" Louis looked at Claire like she was speaking an alien language. "I feel nervous when I'm not around you, too," Claire explained. Louis' expression turned serious as he said, "You really shouldn't be spending so much time alone with me. What if this……all ends horribly wrong?" His angelic face looked truly frightened at the thought.

"Stop worrying," Claire replied gently. "Everything will be just fine."

"You should probably head inside," Louis suggested after Claire's stomach growled loudly. She suddenly realized she was famished, noticing the sky was growing dark, a few faint rays of blood-red sunlight stretching up from the western horizon.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later, right?" Claire half-inquired.

"Yes Claire," Louis replied huskily., leaning towards Claire slowly. "Just promise me one thing?"

"Name it," Claire said breathlessly, leaning towards Louis' exquisite face.

"Be safe," Louis breathed on her face, knocking Claire slightly loopy. As she regained her senses and opened her eyes, Louis' face was inches from hers. "Hold very still."

Claire froze, not even daring to breathe, as Louis' face drew even closer. Very lightly and gently, Louis' lips trailed from the top of Claire's forehead, down to her temple, kissed both of her eyelids shut, moving across the line of her cheekbones, to her jaw line and down to her chin. Louis pulled back as Claire's eyes fluttered open. He put a hand on the side of her neck and using his thumb, tilted her head back, exposing her bare neck. Claire watched Louis dip his head down and felt him place his icy lips at the base of her throat. Claire inhaled sharply as an electric surge chilled its way through her body.

As Louis pulled slowly away, Claire struggled to remember how to breathe. Louis looked at her tenderly and cupping her face, reminded her, "I'll see you later." Louis reached across to open Claire's door and as he did, he suddenly went rigid, crinkling his nose as if he smelled something unpleasant.

"What is it?" Claire asked.

"A slight problem, is all," Louis replied bitterly. "You should get inside."

Claire barely recalled getting out of the car. As Louis leaned over to shut her door, he pulled her back into the seat with his arm around her waist, saying, "And Claire?" Claire half-way turned around in the seat to look at Louis over her shoulder as he gazed at her with his mesmerizing eyes and sighed, "Sweet dreams," his breath sweet and intoxicating flowing over her face, redoubling its earlier effect. Claire stood shakily and stepped away from the car as Louis shut the door and sped away. Claire turned away from Louis' departing vehicle, freezing in her tracks as she saw someone standing on the sidewalk, waiting for her.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Claire took in the look on Quil's face almost with disbelief. Quil's face was an extremely dark shade of red, almost on the verge of puce. Quil seemed to be trembling, obviously with rage, as though he was trying to restrain himself. Claire was almost afraid to speak.

"What's the matter, Quil?"

Quil continued to breathe heavily, struggling to find his voice. "What are you doing, riding around, alone with _**him**_?" Quil demanded angrily.

"Why does that matter?" Claire asked in response.

"Because of what he is, Claire," Quil replied loudly, almost to the point of shouting.

"And what is that, Quil?" Claire inquired timidly, beginning to fear that something horrible could happen. Quil was still shaking furiously, struggling to contain himself. Claire involuntarily stepped away from Quil, remembering the stories told to her by her Aunt Emily.

"Oh Claire," Quil muttered, his tremors slowly subsiding, though his fists remained clinched tightly at his sides. "I don't want to frighten you; but the sight of you with him……made me almost lose myself."

Claire, knowing the legends of the Quileute tribe, tried to fight the urge to flee. "What are you doing here, Quil?" Claire asked him cautiously.

"Well, I was over at Jacob and Nessie's house earlier and Nessie was telling Jake about your _**date**_ with Louis Cullen. I was so angry that Jacob had to chase me down to stop me." Quil's voice was thick with fury and spite, venom dripping off of every word.

"Where were you going to go?" Claire inquired bravely.

"I was going to find you," Quil confessed. "I had to make sure you were safe."

"Why wouldn't I be safe around Louis?" Claire demanded, beginning to sound a little angry.

"He's a blood-sucking leech, Claire, that's why," Quil roared, his trembling returning with massive force.

"And you're a guy that can turn into a gigantic wolf! What's the difference, Quil?!" Claire shot back hotly.

Quil opened his mouth to object, but no words came out. He closed his mouth slowly and lowered his eyes, his shaking now completely gone. Claire put her hands on her hips, seething and waited for a response from Quil. Quil continued to look at the ground, shuffling his feet and mumbling incoherently. Claire finally gave up with a sigh, shrugged her shoulders and began walking towards the building to head to her apartment. As she passed Quil, his hand shot out to catch her arm and turned Claire to face him.

"Where are you going?" Quil demanded.

"I'm going inside, Quil," Claire explained, twisting her arm in an attempt to free herself. "Until you figure out whether or not you can talk to me; you may have nothing better to do than stand around mumbling quietly, but I have things to do." Quil did not release her arm as she continued to twist and pull, trying to break his grip.

"What things?" Quil asked heatedly.

"I've got housework to catch up on and I need to do my laundry, if you must know," Claire answered, wincing in pain as Quil tightened his grip. "Quil, let go. You're hurting me." Quil continued to stare darkly at Claire, his eyes piercing and full of rage.

"I want you to stop seeing Louis Cullen," Quil instructed fiercely. "Do you understand me?"

"Quil, unless you want my face to end up like my Aunt Emily's, you'll let me go……right now," Claire gritted through her teeth.

The thought of Emily must have broken through Quil's anger, because he relaxed his grip slowly and dropped his hand. Claire stepped away from Quil, rubbing her arm where Quil had grabbed her. Slowly backing away, Claire said, "I'm going inside now, Quil. You should go home." Claire turned around and headed towards her apartment. Just as she reached her door, she heard a loud **rip**, turned around and leaned over the rail to see where the noise came from. Quil had disappeared. All that Claire could see in the gathering gloom was what looked like a few shredded pieces of cloth. Then, from out of the dark woods adjacent to her parking lot, came an ear-splitting howl, filled with pain. Claire turned around and headed inside, thinking about what was going to happen between her and Quil. As Claire tidied up the apartment, her mind continued to race.

_Quil's __never__ behaved like this before_, Claire observed silently. _I thought the Quileutes and the Cullens were friends now._

Gathering her clothes into a large hamper, Claire grabbed her detergent and her keys. The laundry facility wasn't far from her apartment, so Claire also grabbed the book that she had checked out from the library a few days earlier. Balancing the clothes basket on top of her knee, Claire locked the door to her apartment and set off. It didn't take long before Claire had reached the small laundry facility. As she loaded her clothes, Claire's mind debated against her heart, trying to decide what she should do about both Louis and Quil. She finally gave up on deciding what she should do and settled down to read as she waited for her clothes to finish.

Claire hadn't read "Interview with the Vampire" in a really long time, at least not since her underclassman years of high school. As she continued to read, Claire began noticing several similarities between the story's main character, who also happened to be named Louis, and her own personal dark angel. Only after bypassing a few chapters and re-reading about what happened in Paris at the Theater of the Vampires did Claire finally realize that her Louis and the story's Louis were one and the same. Tears ran down Claire's face as she moved her laundry to the dryers, grateful that no one was around to see her in such a state. Claire sat down in a chair, brought her knees up, wrapped her arms around them and buried her face in the crook of her elbow to weep. She remained curled in that position, even after her eyes ran dry, trying to process the events of Louis' past.

When her clothes were dry, Claire threw them back into her laundry basket, not bothering to fold them, and headed back to her apartment. Claire attempted to compose her face in the dark, just in case she ran into anybody. Though the inky black night was still young, Claire opened her door, tossed down the basket of clean clothes and headed straight for the bathroom. She threw on her favorite sleep pants and an old t-shirt, and then washed her face in an attempt to calm herself. Ignoring her still-shaking hands, Claire went back to the living room, picking up the basket of clothes from where she had dropped it. Before she left the living room, Claire made sure the front door had shut and latched, then locked the deadbolt and slid the chain into position.

Claire laughed darkly to herself as she headed into her bedroom. _Well, I should at least be safe from __**human**__ predators._ Claire sat on her bed, slowly folded all her clothes and put them away. Just as Claire had put her basket back in the only open corner of her bedroom, the phone rang shrilly, causing her to jump and clamp her hands over her mouth to muffle her scream.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Claire slowly came out of her bedroom, crossed the living room into the kitchen, where the phone hung on the wall charger, shrieking loudly. Claire slowly reached out and picked it up, bringing it to her ear and mumbled quietly, "Hello?"

"Claire, Claire! Is that you?" a relieved voice breathed on the other end.

"Renesmee?" Claire asked.

"Yes it's me, you dumbass," Nessie chided her. "You were expecting someone else?" Nessie added sarcastically.

"Well, no, but I………" Claire began. "What's going on, Nessie?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right," Renesmee answered. "What happened?"

"Well, when Louis dropped me off earlier, Quil was here, waiting for me, I guess," Claire started explaining. "He was super-pissed and started yelling at me and everything."

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Nessie asked hesitantly.

"He grabbed me by the arm and wouldn't let go," Claire replied. "He didn't even let me go when I **told** him he was hurting me. I had to remind him of what happened to my Aunt Emily before he snapped out of it."

"Wow" was all that she heard Renesmee say. Just then, Claire heard a light thud against the outside of her door. Scared, she quickly asked Renesmee, "Quil ran off after I got him to let go. Do you know where he is or if he's calmed down?"

"Jake heard him when he cried out earlier," Renesmee responded. Claire remembered the sound of pain in the howl as Renesmee mentioned it. "Jake hasn't come back yet, but they can take care of themselves." Renesmee's voice quivered slightly.

"What about Louis?" Claire asked. "Have you talked to him?"

"No, I haven't, but if he knew that Quil was there, he wouldn't have gone far," Renesmee replied matter-of-factly.

"He knew," Claire said, recalling how Louis had reacted after he sensed Quil's presence just a few hours earlier.

"Well, why don't you call him?" Nessie added suggestively. The corners of Claire's mouth turned upward as she thought about Nessie's rather-pointed suggestion.

"You know, some might say you're being a bad influence," Claire chided playfully. "But, I don't have enough strength or willpower left in me to **not** be with him."

"You sound just like my mom," Renesmee sighed. "She was the same way when she met my dad."

"How did Bella deal with it?" Claire asked.

"It took a lot of patience," Nessie replied, "which was never one of her fortes; my dad was really the one who kept everything together."

"Would there be any way that I could talk to her?" Claire questioned bravely. "To find out if she might have any advice, you know?"

"Most likely," Renesmee answered. "My parents are coming up next week, or so they say; they get distracted easily."

"Sounds great," Claire said lightly. "It would really help if I had someone I could talk to about all of this."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Nessie retorted, laughing lightly. "It's not like you can go up to your mom and ask her about how to deal with your vampire sweetheart."

Joining Renesmee with a giggle of her own, Claire said, "Yeah, that conversation would go real smooth: _'The guy you're dating is a whaaaat?!'_ **BOOM!!!!** She'd pass smooth out if I were to drop that on her."

"So……are you gonna call him?" Renesmee inquired again.

"Yeah, I think I will," Claire replied, thinking about spending more time with Louis.

"Well, get on it then," Nessie playfully ordered.

"All right, I'll talk to you later," Claire promised. "Bye."

"Be careful," Nessie reminded her and hung up.

Claire hung up and settled down on the couch, dialing Louis' number. A few rings later, Louis picked up.

"Are you all right?" Louis asked softly.

"How did you know it was me?" Claire inquired.

"You did call me earlier," Louis reminded her. "I saved your number. Now please answer my question: are you all right?"

"Yes Louis, I'm all right," Claire replied. "Where are you?"

"Not far, chérie," Louis assured her.

"Would you like to come over?" Claire asked, secretly begging for his answer to be 'yes'. "Please?"

"Is anything wrong, chérie?" Louis demanded quietly.

"No, everything's fine," Claire assured him. "I just would really like to spend some more time with you."

Louis was silent on the other end of the line for a few moments. Claire waited impatiently, her heartbeat pounding in her head.

"Louis?" Claire whispered after a few minutes.

"Hmm?" Louis murmured.

"I was just checking to see if you were still there," Claire said quietly.

"Of course I am," Louis' voice answered loudly nearby. Claire gasped and dropped the phone as she looked around. Louis was standing in her bedroom doorway, leaning to one side with his arms folded across his chest, a playful smirk across his magnificent face.

"I didn't mean to frighten you," Louis said apologetically.

"How did you get in here?" Claire asked, her heart and her breathing beginning to slow.

"Your window," Louis answered simply, motioning over his shoulder.

"Was that you earlier?" Claire inquired, looking at the front door. "I heard something thud against the front door while I was talking to Nessie a few minutes ago."

"Yes that was me," Louis confessed. "As soon as your friend left, I came back to keep an eye on you."

"You could hear everything Nessie and I said, huh?" Claire guessed.

"Yes, I do have excellent auditory receptors," Louis humbly stated, "amongst other enhanced abilities."

After picking up the phone, Claire rose from the couch and took a few steps towards Louis. "So then you heard what I said about you?" Claire asked of him for her own clarification purposes.

"Yes chérie, I heard," Louis confirmed, taking a few steps toward Claire in response.

"And what do you think about it?" Claire questioned him, holding her breath as she stepped directly in front of him. She could sense the electricity crackling in the air around them, causing her heartbeat to accelerate once more.

"Is it true, chérie?" Louis implored, his brilliant bronze eyes pleading, almost on the verge of agony.

"Oui, mon amour," Claire whispered, her body tense, eyes glancing slowly from Louis' eyes to his lips and back again.

"Come with me," Louis instructed softly, his icy fingertips brushing against her cheek, trailing down to glide across her lips, parted slightly in breathless anticipation. Louis slowly lowered his hand to take hers. His frosty fingers enveloped hers, sending a delicious chill down Claire's spine.

Being led slowly to her bedroom, Claire could not look away from Louis' magnanimous visage, and Louis' eyes never left hers. Louis led her directly to her bed, dropped her hand, only to place his frigid palm against the back of her neck and guided her as they sat down on the bed. Louis trailed his fingertips from the back of her neck down along the side, to her clavicle and to the hollow of her throat, pressing his freezing palm down directly over her heart. Claire kept her breathing as even as she could, and occasionally her breath would catch in her throat as her heart accelerated in response to Louis' touch.

"I am curious," Louis began, finally breaking the silence as he lowered his hand. "How are you able to control your body this well?"

Claire looked at Louis for a moment, trying to grasp what exactly he was asking her. Louis, taking in the slightly confused look on Claire's face, rephrased his question.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to confuse you. I am simply curious about how you are able to stay so calm around me."

"Oh," Claire responded, finally comprehending Louis' query and smacking herself in the forehead. "Sorry, I guess I had a blonde moment. I do a lot of meditation, so I suppose that would be why."

"That's quite intriguing," Louis said, smiling gently. "I have not ever come across someone who is so comfortable in any given situation."

"Trust me, it's not as easy as it looks," Claire replied humbly. "It takes a great deal of concentration and effort. It also requires a lot of energy; I am usually only half-awake by the time I realize that I can relax."

"Sounds a great deal like what I feel I have to go through daily," Louis commented.

"I'll bet that yours is a lot harder, though," Claire observed quietly.

"There are times when it does become overbearing," Louis responded. "Perhaps you should teach me your meditation techniques. I might find them useful."

"Sure, anytime," Claire said, reaching over to take Louis' icy hand. Claire lowered her eyes, watching her and Louis' hands sitting still as death. Louis' alabaster skin stood out in sharp contrast to Claire's russet, emphasizing even more so Louis' nature. Louis released her hand to bring his up to her chin, lifting her head to their eyes met.

"Claire, is there something you're not telling me?" Louis inquired softly, his eyes pleading.

Claire slowly released Louis' hand, leaned across her bed, reaching for something on her nightstand. The library book she had checked out, "Interview with the Vampire", its paperback cover rolled back slightly from wear, trembled in her hand as she pushed herself back into a sitting position next to Louis. Claire slowly held out the book and waited for Louis to take it. Louis slowly reached up to take the book, looked at it and then looked back at Claire with a pained expression on his angelic face.

"I know what happened in Paris," Claire whispered. "I'm sorry, Louis. I went to the library the other day and just happened across it. I hadn't read it since high school and after everything that I had been told, I figured a vampire story would be something to have a good laugh at." Claire lowered her eyes again briefly and then looked back at Louis, shaking her head. "Now I realize why you couldn't tell me about what happened. And I am so sorry that you have had to suffer alone for so long."

A few tears escaped from the corners of Claire's chocolate eyes and rolled silently down her cheeks. Louis lifted his hand and gently wiped them away, softly caressing each side of his face as he did so.

"Shh…" Louis whispered. "Please do not cry, love; everything is all right. I'm here, chérie." Louis pulled Claire closer to him and wrapped his arms around her, Claire's head resting on his shoulder. Silent tears continued to course down Claire's face, her body trembling. Louis simply held her, wiping away her tears at regular intervals.

"So what now?" Claire asked, lifting her head from Louis' shoulder to look into his mesmerizing golden eyes.

"You need to get some sleep," Louis observed in response. "You look like you're about to fall over."

"I'm not tired," Claire replied, a yawn escaping her mouth in contradiction to her words.

"Lie down and get some rest, chérie," Louis instructed.

"You won't leave, will you?" Claire pleaded as she lay back on her bed, snuggling under the covers.

"Not if you don't want me to," Louis replied, smiling sweetly, his eyes soft and sincere.

"Stay with me," Claire begged quietly, her eyelids becoming heavy. "Please," she whispered.

Louis walked around to the far side of Claire's bed, sat down and laid back, his head coming to rest next to Claire's. Louis lifted his arm, allowing Claire to snuggle up next to him and made sure the blanket was between her and Louis' skin. Louis put his arm around Claire, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Louis?" Claire whispered.

"Yes, chérie?" Louis responded.

"Je t'aime," Claire sighed as she closed her eyes. She felt Louis' frosty lips on her forehead as he said, "I know, chérie. And I love you too." And then Claire drifted off to sleep, Louis' arms wrapped around her, prepared to protect her even as she slept.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Claire slept soundly that night, her peaceful dreams filled with images of Louis, her immortal angel. She slowly opened her eyes, only to realize that she was in bed alone. The blanket, she noticed, had been lovingly tucked underneath her. As she began to untangle her legs from the twisted mess they were in, she heard a faint chuckle and began to smile.

"Good morning, chérie," Louis called softly, sitting in the chair at her desk, smiling sweetly.

"Hey," Claire replied sleepily, a yawn escaping her lips. "How long have you been up?"

"I moved over here a few hours ago," Louis said. "But I haven't been to sleep."

"Why not?" Claire asked in alarm, jerking upright into a sitting position. "Is anything wrong?"

"No, my love," Louis assured her. "I just don't sleep. I haven't slept in over two hundred years."

Claire's mouth fell open as she took in Louis' words. Her brain stirred sluggishly as she tried to collect her thoughts. "So no coffins, huh?" Claire inquired determinedly.

"No, Claire," Louis chuckled. "That was just for the book. I had to throw in a few myths so the story would be construed as fiction."

"I see," Claire replied. "Nessie told me that you all really only have one rule: Keep the Secret."

"Renesmee was correct, love," Louis confirmed. "It is difficult sometimes, but we always find a way to manage."

Claire tossed the covers aside and got out of bed, stretching her hands above her head and balancing on the balls of her feet. She then waltzed over to Louis and he pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

"You need to get dressed," Louis instructed cryptically.

"Why?" Claire inquired. "Where are we going?"

"I thought I might take you down to Denali," Louis replied. "I'd really like to introduce you to my family."

"Really?" Claire questioned. "Do you think they'll like me?"

"Absolutely, chérie," Louis reassured her. "Tanya has been going on and on about wanting to meet you, so that's got Carmen and Kate all in an uproar about you, also."

"How many others do you live with?" Claire asked.

"There's Tanya, Kate and Garrett, and Carmen and Eleazar. Tanya and Kate's sister Irina was destroyed by the Volturi about 20 years ago," Louis explained.

"How awful," Claire gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Yes, they still feel quite strongly about it, but they have tried to move on," Louis said.

"That's really sad," Claire responded. "I hope it really is all right, me going out there with you."

"Everything will be just fine, chérie," Louis whispered.

Louis held Claire, his stone form immovable under the pressure of Claire's weight. Claire picked up a lock of Louis' honey-blond hair and began twirling it around her finger absent-mindedly. Finally, Louis reached up to take hold of her hand and brought it back down to her lap.

"You should get ready," Louis gently urged.

"Oh, all right," Claire sighed as she stood up. She began rummaging around in her closet and her dresser, trying to find the perfect outfit.

_What __does__ one wear when they're about to meet their vampire sweetheart's family?_ Claire thought to herself. She finally settled on a short black skirt and a purple blouse with long half-sleeves. Turning around to face Louis, Claire said, "I'm going to need a shower, so you stay put."

"Yes, ma'am," Louis answered formally.

Claire took off towards the bathroom, but before she left her bedroom, she walked back over to Louis and slowly, with Louis' brilliant eyes following her every move, she bent down and gently placed her lips on Louis' icy cheek. Louis froze, as did Claire, her heart racing. Slowly, Claire began to move away, keeping her eyes on Louis' face at all times. When she was a few feet away, Claire straightened up and waited for Louis' response. Louis continued to stare at Claire, saying nothing. Finally, Claire asked, "Did that bother you?"

Louis took a deep breath and answered, "No chérie. I very much enjoyed it; I was just caught off guard, that's all."

"So are you sure you're all right?" Claire questioned.

"I honestly cannot remember a time when I've ever felt better," Louis beamed, a smile crossing his face, lighting up his already magnificent bronze eyes. Claire returned the grin enthusiastically and took a step back towards Louis.

"I guess I'll go get ready then," Claire said hesitantly.

Louis stood up and slowly glided the few remaining steps between him and Claire, putting his hands on top of her shoulders. Claire looked deep into Louis' molten-gold eyes, slowly moving her face towards his, almost unconsciously. Louis' hands came up to her face, cupping her cheeks and caressing them with his thumbs.

"Stay still, chérie," Louis whispered. He locked eyes with Claire for a moment before looking down at her mouth.

Claire froze, rigid as a board, her hands becoming sweaty at her sides. She concentrated on keeping her breathing as even as possible, her eyes following Louis' lips. Claire, her heart pounding in her head, held her breath as she felt Louis' frozen lips brush against her cheek. His icy mouth moved down her jaw line and then Louis, very gently, pressed his lips against hers. A surge of electricity jolted through her body in response to Louis' kiss, and for a moment, Claire thought her heart had stopped. Louis slowly moved his face away and his eyes locked back onto hers. They waited silently for Claire's heart to resume its normal rhythm, which it finally did after a few moments.

Claire drew in a deep breath and let it out very slowly. She slowly lifted her hand and brought it up to Louis' face, which looked utterly content, and brushed her fingers across his icy cheek. Louis released her face to take hold of both of her hands and said with a smile, "Now you really need to get ready, my love."

"If I have to," Claire responded breathlessly, her eyes never leaving Louis' face. Louis gently released her hands and turned her around, carefully nudging her towards her bedroom door. Claire once again grabbed her clothes and headed out of her bedroom. Before she went into the bathroom, she went back to her bedroom and asked Louis, "What are the Volturi?"

Louis, who was sitting on the edge of Claire's bed, looked up with a curious expression on his face. "The Volturi are a who, my love, not a what," Louis corrected her, his eyes soft yet worrisome.

"Okay then, **who** are the Volturi?" Claire rephrased.

"I'll tell you about them later," Louis replied. "You still need to get ready."

"You promise?" Claire inquired.

"Cross my heart, chérie," Louis vowed. "Now hurry, please."

Claire grinned brightly, then turned and danced her way back to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Claire quickly brushed her teeth and then turned on the shower. Stepping under the warm spray, Claire allowed the hot water to relax her tense muscles as she washed her hair and her body. After she had rinsed clean and shut off the water, Claire stepped out of the shower, quickly toweling off and hopped into her clothes. After a few minutes, Claire gave up on her jet-black locks and resigned herself to wearing her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Tossing her dirty clothes into the laundry hamper, Claire threw open the bathroom door and strolled into the living room to find Louis perched on the arm of her couch.

Putting her hands on her hips, Claire teasingly scolded, "Didn't anyone ever tell you you're not supposed to climb on the furniture?"

"My apologies, mademoiselle," Louis replied with a smile, gracefully leaping down and crossing the length of the living room in the blink of an eye to appear beside her. "Shall we be off?" Louis inquired, placing his hand in the small of Claire's back.

"Yeah, let me grab my purse," Claire said, darting back into her room. Snatching her bag off of her bedside table, Claire rushed back to the living room where Louis was waiting with the front door held open. Claire glided past Louis and locked the door after he had pulled it shut. Louis offered his arm, which Claire took without hesitation, and guided her towards his car. The silver Mercedes gleamed slightly, the overcast sky not allowing the sun's rays to fully penetrate the cloudbank. Louis opened Claire's door and she got in. Louis flashed around the car and hopped inside, starting the engine with a roar.

They pulled out of the parking lot and began to head out of town, enjoying the scenery along the way. Louis held Claire's hand the whole journey, and it wasn't before long they had reached the far outskirts of Denali. Claire turned to Louis and asked, "How fast were you going?"

"I'll slow down if you want me to," Louis offered, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Oh no, that's not it at all," Claire quickly reassured him. "I was just trying to figure out how fast you were going. It normally takes about an hour and a half or so to get to Denali from the school, so you had to have been doing about a buck-ten to a buck-twenty. Is that about right?"

"Very good, chérie," Louis complimented her. "I didn't realize how good you are with math."

"I try, anyways," Claire replied modestly, blushing slightly.

"I love it when your skin turns that color," Louis observed. "You look even more delectable than usual."

Claire blushed an even deeper shade of red, her russet skin turning almost to a light shade of burgundy. Abruptly, Louis turned the car sharply and they began heading into the woods on a private road that Claire hadn't even noticed.

"How much further?" Claire inquired as the car wound its way through the thick forestry.

"Not far, love," Louis replied softly, rubbing his thumb absent-mindedly across the back of her hand.

Soon there was a break in the trees and they came upon the most beautiful house Claire had ever seen. It was a large three-story Victorian, old but well-maintained. The first floor had a gorgeous patio setting with a large panoramic window that wrapped around the sides of the house, allowing a beautifully uninterrupted view of the surrounding foliage. The second and third floors also had large windows, spaced evenly across the front side of the house. Louis pulled up directly in front of the large patio, shutting off the car's engine. Claire's hands were clenched together in her lap, her brow creased in agitation.

Louis turned to Claire, whose eyes were staring unblinkingly at the immaculate structure towering over them, grasped both of her hands with one of his and asked, "Are you ready?"

Claire blinked and turned her eyes to Louis, smiled and replied, "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do it."

Louis released her hands and got out of the car. He flashed around to her car door, opened it and offered his hand to help her up. Claire took Louis' hand and he gently pulled her out of the car to his side, where she fit perfectly under his arm as he closed her door. Louis led Claire up the stairs onto the patio, where he removed his arm from around her shoulders and stepped in front of her, stopping at the front door. Claire looked at Louis and nodded, and then he opened the front door, stepped inside and held out his hand for her to take. Claire grasped Louis' chilly hand and, taking a deep breath, stepped across the threshold.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Claire stood in awe at the sight of Louis' home and the soft, quiet beauty surrounding her. The foyer was bathed in a soft, iridescent light coming from a skylight directly overhead. The walls were covered in picture frames, some holding beautiful pieces of art, others holding gorgeous scenery layouts. The rooms were painted a creamy ivory that coincided well with the light wooden floors.

"This is incredible," Claire complimented to Louis, who was guiding her around the spacious foyer, allowing her to gaze at the various pictures and canvases adorning the walls.

"I quite agree," Louis replied. "This house has its own personality, don't you think?"

"Absolutely," Claire agreed enthusiastically. "Where did they find all of these?"

"They collected them over the years," Louis explained. "Some of these are their own creations."

Claire stopped at a picture hung carefully on the wall in a large gilded frame, containing a hand-painted canvas of three young women huddled together in what looked like a small, secluded glen or meadow. They were all dressed alike: long white dresses, very simple with a different colored ribbon around each of their waists.

"Is this your family?" Claire inquired.

"Yes, this is a picture of Kate, Tanya and Irina many years ago," Louis informed her. He led her down a large hallway, picture frames covering almost every inch of the walls. Louis began pointing out certain ones out and informing Claire about their occupants.

"This is a picture of Carmen and Eleazar, shortly after they joined this family," Louis explained as they stopped at a smaller silver frame containing a portrait of a couple dressed in what looked like Victorian-era clothing.

"Where were they before?" Claire asked.

"Well, Eleazar used to live in Italy with the Volturi," Louis answered. "Carmen was a drifter who happened upon the Volturi and stayed with them only for a short period of time. They bonded and decided to leave together."

"That's so sweet," Claire replied, continuing to gaze around her, trying to take in as much as she possibly could.

"And here is a picture of Garrett and Kate taken quite recently," Louis said as he pointed to a finely-detailed wooden frame containing a photograph of a young couple standing beside a brook or stream, with a caption under the photo saying 'Denali State Park'.

"What about Tanya?" Claire inquired. "Doesn't she have a mate?"

Louis took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, "Tanya has been unfortunate so far. She has had a very difficult time trying to find a mate. Since we are vegetarians," Louis' face broke into a slight grin, but it faded quickly, "Tanya is loathe to the idea of _creating_ herself a mate, yet has been unable to locate one."

"How awful," Claire sighed. "To be alone for so long……must be terrible."

Louis had led her to the back of the house where a gorgeous sunroom, almost completely made of glass, set before her. In that sunroom, Louis' family members had gathered, awaiting her arrival.

Claire, suddenly nervous, grabbed Louis' hand and squeezed it tight. He lightly returned the pressure as he guided her to the middle of the room and announced, "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to someone very special. This is Claire Young. Claire, this is my family." Louis stayed right at Claire's side as his family members slowly approached her. They looked nothing alike with the exception of their eyes and ultra-pale skin tone.

"Hi Claire," one of the women said. "My name is Kate and this is Carmen, Eleazar, my sister Tanya, and my Garrett." Kate pointed to each one as she announced their name, and they each responded with either a smile or a nod of their head.

"We're so glad that you agreed to come out here," Carmen said with a distinct Hispanic accent. "Louis has told us so much about you."

Claire blushed furiously as she glared at Louis, who was grinning sheepishly.

"Forgive me, chérie," Louis replied apologetically. "I had to tell someone. This is all new to me too, you know." Claire's hard stare began to soften as she realized that Louis was right, and then she began to smile.

"Are you hungry?" Garrett asked. "We bought some supplies, just in case. Carmen used to cook, so I'm sure she'd be able to make you something."

"Yeah, actually I am," Claire answered. "I forgot to eat anything before we left this morning. But you don't need to bother yourselves about me."

"Nonsense, my child," Eleazar replied robustly. "It is our pleasure." Eleazar lifted his arm from around Carmen's shoulders as she slowly took another step forward. "What would you like, Claire; breakfast or lunch?"

Claire looked at Louis, who nodded to her in encouragement, and then answered, "Breakfast sounds good, if it's not too much trouble."

"Not a problem, chica. I'll make you some chilaquiles. They are muy bien," Carmen replied lightly, and then she vanished, moving out of the room in a blur.

"What are cheelah-……whatever she said?" Claire asked the room at large.

"Chilaquiles are lightly fried tortillas cooked in salsa," Tanya informed her. Tanya had lingered a few paces behind everyone else and as Claire looked at her closely, she realized why. Tanya's eyes were not the light butterscotch that Claire had come to recognize, but were a flat coal black. _Tanya has not fed recently_, Claire observed internally. She clung to Louis like a child clinging to their mother's skirt, trying to hide the fact that she was slightly afraid.

Just then, a calm soothing feeling spread over her, allowing her to relax. "I hope we're not interrupting anything," a soft-spoken male voice said from behind her. Claire turned to see another couple emerging from the hallway behind her. The man was of medium height and build with a mess of curly, honey-blond hair atop his head. The woman was quite small with short, spiky black hair and a slender frame, gliding across the wooden floor almost as if she were dancing.

"Well this is quite a surprise," Tanya replied. She gave Claire a wide berth as she walked around the group in the middle of the room to embrace the newcomers. "Claire," Tanya said, "allow me to introduce you to Alice & Jasper. They are Carlisle's children."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Claire said genuinely. "Renesmee has told me a lot about you both."

"Claire, it's so wonderful to finally meet **you**," Alice gushed, her light voice tinkling, almost as if she were singing. She glided forward fluidly to embrace Claire, Alice's skin icy against her own. Louis stiffened beside Claire, his eyes cautious and not daring even to breathe, until Alice had released her. Alice placed a frosty white hand against Claire's cheek, which stood out in sharp contrast to Claire's raven locks and copper skin.

"Renesmee has told me so much about you; I feel like you're already part of the family," Alice beamed, her tawny eyes bright with excitement. Alice walked back over to Jasper, turned to Tanya and said, "You should hunt."

"It's nothing," Tanya replied dismissively, waving her hand. "I can manage. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll assist Carmen in the kitchen." And then, locking eyes with Claire briefly, Tanya vanished from their midst.

Claire cast her eyes upon the floor, feeling that she was somehow to blame. Almost immediately, a fresh wave of serenity washed over her frazzled nerves, soothing Claire immensely. Claire glanced up to notice Jasper's eyes on her, and smiled in appreciation for his soothing gift. He seemed to understand and nodded slightly in her direction.

"I'm sorry about that, Claire." Kate stepped beside her silently and lightly placed her hand on Claire's shoulder.

"Did I do something?" Claire inquired timidly, squeezing Louis' frosty hand simultaneously.

"No, it wasn't anything that you did, Claire," Kate tried to reassure her. "Tanya has been very lonely, and for the past few years or so, it has taken an even greater toll on her."

"That's so sad," Claire whispered, shifting closer to Louis. He noticed and he put his arm around her, resting his icy lips on her forehead. Just then, Carmen reappeared slowly around the corner carrying a steaming plate, which was giving off the most wonderful aroma.

"Carmen, it smells delicious," Claire complimented heartily. "You really didn't have to."

"Aww, don't worry, Claire," Garrett interjected, his smile wide and sincere. "Really."

Carmen handed Claire the plate and a fork. Everyone watched Claire, waiting for her to take the first bite. Claire slowly lifted a forkful to her lips and took a bite. It was one of the best things that Claire had ever tasted. Swallowing the first bite, Claire hastily took another, swallowed and replied, "This is absolutely wonderful. Thank you, Carmen."

"De nada, chica," Carmen responded lightly, once again beside her mate.

"I really hope Tanya will be okay," Claire said in between mouthfuls. Louis guided her over to one of the loveseats situated around the sunroom, and sat down with her while she finished eating.

"We all hope so too, chérie," Louis said sullenly, rubbing Claire's back as she ate.

Everyone drifted towards the available seats in the room; Alice and Jasper alone remained in the middle of the floor, where Alice squatted and stayed, perched on the balls of her feet, still as a statue.

"So Claire, what were you and Louis going to do today?" Alice inquired conversationally.

"You mean you don't know already?" Claire asked, surprised.

"I have a pretty good idea, but there's still a decision that has not been made yet," Alice elaborated. "I can only see what would or might happen after the person makes a decision. Now that you're away from Nessie, I can see you more clearly."

"How come you can't see me when I'm with Nessie?" Claire inquired, curious and confused. "Nessie said that you can see the path people are on until they make a new decision or change their minds."

"And that's true," Alice conceded, "but I cannot see Renesmee because of Jacob. The wolves negate my visions."

"You can't see the Quileutes?" Claire questioned. Alice shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, replying, "Since the wolves are our natural enemy, we think that this is a natural defense for them. If you were to go around Nessie, since her future is so entwined with Jake's you'd disappear."

"Wow, that's interesting," Claire finally managed to say. Struggling to gather her thoughts, Claire remembered about Tanya being so upset and asked, "Is that why Tanya doesn't like me? Because I grew up with the wolves?"

"No Claire," Kate spoke up. "That's not why at all. And it's not you. Tanya still feels immensely guilty about Irina, because Tanya convinced Irina to go visit the Cullens and apologize for not being there for Edward and Bella's wedding. When Irina saw Renesmee, she ran to the Volturi. Another one of our rules is you cannot create or turn a child. Children are too hard to control and since the transformation freezes their body, their emotions and intellect freeze also. There were great wars in the past, the Volturi wiping out the perpetrators.

"Our mother was one of them. She kept a child, separate from us. We had no knowledge of it until the Volturi arrived to punish her. Our mother and the child were destroyed, but we were allowed to live because our mother had kept us in the dark about the child. Irina remembered what happened to our mother and wished the Volturi to punish Bella. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Renesmee was different. There had only been a few rare cases of a half-vampire/half-human and Alice sought out one of them to defend their case. Alice arrived just in time to save Bella and Renesmee, but unfortunately, the Volturi destroyed Irina for falsely reporting an immortal child.

"Irina had no idea that Nessie wasn't really an immortal child, or at least, not like the cases in the past. Tanya continues to blame herself for that."

"That's really terrible," Claire murmured quietly. "I couldn't imagine living with that level of guilt for all these years. It must be horrible."

"Tanya has been punishing herself ever since," Carmen interrupted. "She'll go for months at a time without feeding and shut herself away, speaking to no one. We are all at a loss, trying to decide what to do to help her."

"She barely talks to Carlisle anymore," Alice said darkly.

"Would she speak to Bella or Nessie?" Claire asked.

"She'll speak to them every once in a while, but it doesn't help. She doesn't blame them; she never has. Instead she lets her guilt eat away at her," Eleazar explained.

Claire looked at Louis, whose golden eyes were studying her face intently, and smiled. "Are you ready, chérie?" Louis inquired softly. Claire nodded as she stood up. Louis rose beside her and wound his arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. Carmen glided to her side and carefully took the plate from her.

"Thank you, everyone," Claire said, "for everything. I had a really nice time."

"We're so glad you came, Claire," Kate gushed from Garrett's side. "I hope you come back to visit soon."

"I will, if you're sure it will be all right," Claire replied, eyes glancing towards the door that Tanya had unceremoniously vanished through just a short while before.

"Don't worry, my dear," Eleazar majestically retorted. "We would be honored to have you back."

"Thank you, Eleazar," Claire responded gratefully. Louis gently began pulling Claire towards the hallway. She turned to wave goodbye, but was surprised to find the sunroom vacant. Claire turned back to Louis and asked, "Where'd they go?"

"To check on Tanya, I would imagine," Louis replied guardedly. Claire looked at Louis intently for a moment and then decided to dismiss her notion that Louis was keeping something from her. _He'll tell me when he's ready_, Claire thought to herself. Louis guided her towards the front of the house where she saw a very large double-grand staircase, winding around two large pillars, which Claire assumed were the central support beams of the house.

"Would you like to see more?" Louis inquired, following Claire's eyes with interest. Claire beamed at Louis, her eyes filled with excitement. "Very much so." Louis lightly pecked Claire on the cheek, flashed a joyous grin and led Claire up the magnificent stairway.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

More picture frames than Claire had ever seen, outside of a museum or gallery, awaited her as Louis led her up the double-grand staircase. Claire gazed in wonder at the intricate carvings on the banister, which scrolled the entire length of the staircase.

"This is incredible," Claire remarked softly. Louis' eyes watched her face for her every reaction, leading her expertly without so much a glance as to where they were headed.

"Do you like it?" Louis inquired as they reached the second floor landing. He led her over to a small nook directly in front of the staircase; a bench seat had been put right underneath the window, creating a soft pool of light in which to relax, read or curl up for a nap.

"Louis, this is amazing," Claire sighed as they sat together. She leaned over and laid her head on Louis' shoulder as she breathed, "It almost feels like home already." Louis stiffened and pulled back to look at her. His face was a mask of shock, his lips parted in astonishment.

"What do you mean?" Louis demanded quietly. Claire straightened up, her eyes pleading. "This is exactly the kind of home that I always imagined for myself. That was my goal in life: to be able to achieve a certain level of success and create a haven for myself and my family. Now that I have you, nothing else matters."

Louis continued to gaze at her, processing the meaning of her words. His face finally relaxed as he took her hand, pulling Claire up and leading her down the hallway to her left. Claire walked with Louis in silence, wishing that she could know exactly what he was thinking. Louis continued to silently guide Claire around his home, a slightly troubled look on his face. He led her to a door at the end of the hall, where he paused and turned to face her. Louis' amber eyes locked onto her face as his voice finally broke the silence.

"How can you so freely discuss losing your mortality forever?"

Louis opened the door and gestured for Claire to enter, even before she had the chance to answer. Claire stepped into a large room filled with antiques and a variety of knick-knacks. Shelf after shelf lined with an assortment of collectible figurines and other oddball trinkets hung on the walls, making Claire feel as if she were at a flea market, or some other such place.

"What is all this, Louis?" Claire inquired curiously, her eyes scanning the shelves.

"This, chérie, is my collection," Louis replied indifferently. "It's my way of coping with eternity. Some of these are family heirlooms, which are all I have left of my human life, other than my memories. Others are personal reminders – little mementos of my existence through the years."

Claire made her way slowly around the room, stopping only briefly to take a closer look at a few items before moving on. Claire had almost made a complete revolution around the room when something caught her eye. An antique doll, with a faded porcelain face like a cherub, golden curls and bright blue eyes, in a tattered white lace gown was propped up against the back of the wall, her feet dangling over the edge of the shelf. Claire carefully lifted the doll from its place and cradled it in her arms, like she had done when she was a child.

"I used to have a china doll like this when I was a little girl," Claire said softly, smiling slightly as she recalled her childhood. She had a brief flashback of Quil playing dolls with her and remembered her horror as Quil accidentally shattered her china doll in his large, muscular hands. Claire shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.

"What is it, chérie?" Louis asked tenderly, appearing silently beside her.

"My doll was broken accidentally," Claire replied in a whisper. "This one looks just like it."

"This doll belonged to Claudia," Louis said, his voice quivering slightly with emotion.

"She meant a great deal to you, didn't she?" Claire questioned tentatively. Louis gazed at her, his eyes burning with the intensity of his sorrow; the muscles of his angelic face constricted as he struggled for control over the timeless pain within his memories.

"Oui, chérie," Louis finally answered, his tender voice thick with emotion. "For the longest time, Claudia was my world, my reason for existing. She was my beloved, my child." Louis carefully removed Claudia's doll from Claire's arms and replaced it on the shelf from where she had taken it. He then took both of Claire's hands and led her from the room of antiquities.

"I'm sorry, Louis," Claire begged. "I didn't mean to upset you with what I said."

"No need to apologize, love," Louis rescinded. "I did not mean to spoil our afternoon together with my emotional reminiscing."

Louis had led her to the opposite end of the hallway where he opened another door and ushered Claire inside. This room was filled with hundreds of books, a desk and a beautiful leather half-couch, like one that could be found in a psychiatrist's office.

"Is this your room?" Claire guessed as Louis led her over to the desk, where they leaned up against the edge, facing each other.

"Yes, love," Louis simply confirmed.

"This is wonderful," Claire complimented as she gazed around. "Having your own personal library must be nice. And just so you know, you haven't spoiled anything."

Louis grinned slightly as he replied, "I'm truly glad for that. So what would you like to do now?" Claire glanced around at Louis' room and was struck with an idea.

"I don't suppose I could talk you into reading to me?" she said slyly.

"Claire, I don't believe that there's anything that I wouldn't do for you," Louis replied, his voice light-hearted, yet it did not touch his eyes. Claire grinned as Louis moved to one of the walls covered in books and asked, "Do you have a preference?"

"Not really," Claire answered. "Every story will seem brand new if you read it to me."

Louis selected a gorgeous leather-bound tome and brought it over. Just before Louis reached her, he stopped and looked at her curiously. Then he flashed to her side and lifted her quite easily over his shoulder and carried her over to the leather sofa, Claire protesting all the while. Louis set Claire down in front of the sofa and grinned at her jubilantly. His joy was so great that Claire found herself grinning as well.

"I knew you'd forgive me," Louis said lightly.

"You might not be so lucky next time," Claire scolded him half-heartedly, struggling to maintain a scowl.

"I'll bear that in mind," Louis laughed. He pulled her down onto the sofa with him as he opened the book that he had selected.

"What is it?" Claire inquired, lifting Louis' free arm and snuggling close to his side.

"Have you ever heard of William Blake?" Louis asked as he flipped through the volume's pages.

"Not that I can remember," Claire replied.

"This is one of my favorite passages," Louis said before clearing his throat. " 'To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wildflower, to hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.'" Louis looked at Claire as she sighed and responded, "That's beautiful, Louis. Read me some more."

Louis grinned as he returned his attention to the works of William Blake and continued reading. Claire laid her head on Louis' chest as he read, allowing her mind to focus only on the flowing majesty of her Louis' voice. Claire's eyes began to feel heavy as she continued to listen to Louis' words, and soon she drifted off into darkness.

When Claire awoke, she was laying curled on the leather couch by herself. She could hear hushed voices nearby and as she fought the heaviness of sleep lingering in her body, she began to make out what was being whispered.

"…I just saw him. He'll be here in a few days," Alice's sweet voice spoke softly.

"Why is he coming now?" Louis' angelic voice growled quietly.

"I can't see why, Louis," Alice whispered defensively. "I see the outcome of decisions, not the reasons behind them."

"I know, Alice," Louis sighed. "Forgive me?"

"Of course," Alice agreed. "You'll need to tell Claire."

Louis sighed loudly. "I don't want to alarm her."

Claire heard someone cross the room and open the door. Then Alice's voice pierced the darkness once more. "She's a smart girl, Louis. She'll figure it out one way or another if you don't tell her."

"I know, Alice; that's what I'm afraid of," Louis sighed again.

"We'll keep her safe, Louis," Alice quietly assured him.

"Thank you," Louis whispered. Claire heard the door click shut and Louis' quiet footfalls approach her. Louis sat beside Claire and laid an icy hand against the side of her face. "Claire?" Louis called quietly. "Are you awake, chérie?"

"Yes," Claire whispered. "What's going on, Louis?"

"You fell asleep while I was reading to you," Louis replied, side-stepping the point of her question. "You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to disturb you."

Claire slowly sat up and stared at Louis' illuminated features. "That's not what I meant," Claire said pointedly. "What were you and Alice whispering about?"

Louis sighed and looked away. Claire grasped his hand to bring his attention back to her as she said, "She's right, you know?" Louis arched his eyebrow, trying to figure out exactly what Claire meant. "I'll figure out whatever it is, if you choose not to tell me," Claire responded.

"How much of the conversation did you overhear?" Louis inquired.

"Just the end, I guess," Claire replied. "All I got out of it was that someone you don't care to see has decided to visit."

"You are most certainly correct, love," Louis acknowledged. "My maker has decided to come check on me."

"Why is he showing up now?" Claire asked.

"I'm not sure," Louis answered. "I haven't seen or heard from him in over fifty years."

"Everything will be all right," Claire tried to assure him. "We'll run away if it bothers you so much."

Louis smiled slightly as he pulled Claire into his lap. "I wish it were that easy. I cannot outrun him. He's my maker; he is able to find me no matter where I am." Claire remained silent as she tried to process this new information.

"What are you going to do?" Claire finally asked. Louis was silent for a brief moment before he answered, "The best thing would be to go away for a short while. That way he will be less tempted to figure out why your scent is so strong around me." Claire froze in horror as she contemplated the thought of Louis leaving. She shuddered involuntarily as pain sliced through her body at the notion of being separated from Louis.

"What's wrong, chérie?" Louis demanded softly. "There's no need to fear; I promise I will not allow anything to happen to you."

"Oh I know," Claire's voice cracked. "That's not what I'm worried about." Louis lifted her chin so their eyes met. "Then what's bothering you, love?"

"The thought of not being with you, even for the smallest amount of time, hurts me more than anything that I've ever known," Claire explained slowly, struggling to contain the mounting fear building inside her.

"I understand that feeling as well, love," Louis whispered as he brushed a few stray hairs out of Claire's face. "I feel it also whenever we are apart."

"Then what are we going to do, Louis?" Claire questioned. "We can't stay together, yet we can't bear to be apart from one another."

"I know, chérie," Louis replied. "Do not fret, my love. We'll figure something out, I promise."

"M'kay," Claire sighed as she laid her head back onto Louis' shoulder. Louis stood, cradling Claire in his arms, and began to make his way downstairs. "Where are we going?" Claire inquired groggily, caught somewhere between consciousness and dreamland.

"It's time to take you home, chérie," Louis whispered in Claire's ear.

"Will you stay with me?" Claire begged quietly, struggling to hold onto her last few threads of conscious fibers.

"Nothing could ever keep me away," Louis spoke softly into the side of Claire's neck. Claire smiled as she closed her eyes, Louis gently placing her in the passenger seat of his Mercedes. The jolt of Louis' door closing brought Claire back from the brink of unconsciousness and she remembered something.

"Louis?"

"Hmm?"

"You never told me your maker's name," Claire stated quietly.

"You should sleep, my love," Louis replied, dodging her query.

"You know I'll figure it out whether you tell me or not," Claire said with a yawn. Giving in, Louis whispered, "His name is Lestat – Lestat de Lioncourt."

"Don't worry," Claire whispered, her eyes closing. "Nothing will ever come between us, not even Lestat."

"Sleep, my love," Louis replied softly into her ear. "You'll be home soon enough."

"M'kay," Claire sighed as she felt the car rumble to life. "Louis?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"I love you," Claire said quietly as she felt herself drift deeper into unconsciousness.

"I know," Louis chuckled softly. "Je t'aime, ma chérie." Louis' icy hand reached over to lightly tilt Claire's head back and gently he pressed his frozen lips to hers. "Now sleep," Louis instructed in a whisper. Claire held on to Louis' hand, a tether to her personal angel, and allowed herself to slip, once more, into darkness.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Claire opened her eyes to find herself standing in the middle of a deserted clearing, enveloped in the deep darkness of the forest. Slowly, she wandered around the clearing, trying to recognize anything that might let her know where she had ended up. Claire heard a soft rustling behind her, causing her to jump. She turned around, attempting to peer into the darkness to see what had caused the noise. All was darkness, and Claire, in an attempt to sound brave, called out, "Is anybody there?"

Claire stepped backward and tripped over a tree root in the ground. Just then, she heard a dark chuckle, coming out of the darkness in front of her.

"Who's there?" Claire whispered in alarm. Another amused peal of laughter emanated from the darkness, and this time a face appeared, staring down at her with burning red eyes and a wicked grin crossing his face. Claire attempted to back away slowly, but the face continued to emerge from the darkness, revealing a finely dressed young man, his long hair fanned out across his shoulders. Claire stood slowly, fear gripping her deeply.

"Who are you?" she whispered out into the night.

The figure did not answer, but stepped forward into the pale moonlight, his skin giving off a faint shimmer. Claire tried to back away, but her body seemed frozen in place, her mind screaming internally to flee. The young man sauntered forward, the grin spreading across his face, a snarl rising from deep in his chest. The fear gripping Claire's body wavered for a moment, and she turned to run. She heard the wind snap as the dark figure closed the distance between them. A pair of strong arms closed around her chest from behind and Claire felt a sharp pain on the back of her shoulder. The last thing she remembered was opening her mouth to scream……

Claire bolted upright, the scream from her nightmare dying away, her breathing ragged and erratic. Her heart pounding in her head, she jumped and screamed as another set of arms closed around her.

"Quiet, Claire," Louis admonished. "Everything is all right. I'm here, chérie."

Claire, her eyes still focused on her nightmarish adversary, glanced over Louis' face. It took less than a second for the trance to break, and then Claire threw herself deeper into the shelter of Louis' arms.

"What's wrong, my love?" Louis whispered, cradling Claire close to his chest, resting his chin gently on top of her head. "Calm down; you just had a bad dream, that's all." Claire could hear a high-pitched whine coming from somewhere, and only when she felt Louis' icy hand over her chest did she realize that the sound was coming from her. Claire closed her eyes and focused on slowing her breathing. After a few minutes, Claire opened her eyes, her breathing somewhat back to normal. Louis had waited patiently for her to calm down, but now the worry that he must have been feeling appeared on his concerned visage.

"Is everything all right, chérie?" Louis asked cautiously, his brow furrowed in anxiety.

Claire took a deep breath, let it out slowly and answered hoarsely, "I'm okay now."

"What were you dreaming of to cause you such fear?" Louis inquired. Claire hesitated, her mind debating whether or not to reveal the true scourge of her dream. _You know he'll want you to be honest_, Claire convinced herself.

"All right, I'll tell you," Claire finally conceded. "But I want you to promise me you won't freak out or get mad. Promise?" Louis said nothing, his eyes troubled. After a few moments, he finally just nodded his head. Claire took a deep breath and said, "I dreamt that somehow I ended up out in the forest at night, and I was alone. Then out of the darkness someone attacked me. I don't know who he was," Claire paused and held up her hand to stop Louis from interrupting, "but I know he was like you, except he had bright red eyes. I tried to run away, which was dumb, I know. And then he attacked, and bit me……right here."

Claire reached around her shoulder to rub the spot where she had been bitten in her nightmare. Louis' hand followed hers, making sure that there wasn't really a bite mark present.

"Did he say anything to you?" Louis questioned, concern lining his immortal face.

"No, he just laughed and smiled," Claire replied, recalling the dark amusement her attacker had possessed. "But it was just a dream, right?" Louis' eyes flashed over to hers, anxiety quickly giving way to fear.

"Claire, I want you to promise me that you'll stay out of the woods unless Renesmee or I are with you. Do you understand?" Louis demanded, firm yet gentle.

"Does this have to do with Lestat coming to see you?" Claire asked determinedly.

"Just promise me you won't go out into the woods alone, chérie," Louis begged. "Promise?" Claire looked down, afraid to make eye contact. Louis, just as stubborn as she was, gently pulled her chin upward, forcing their eyes to meet. His eyes burned passionately, melting Claire's resolve.

"I promise," Claire finally whispered. Louis gathered her face in both of his hands, pressed his lips gently to hers, trailing his kisses across her cheek over to her ear, where he whispered, "Merci, ma chérie."

Electricity burned its way through Claire's body, her heart accelerating in response to Louis' touch. Louis sat back and gazed at Claire, his eyes carefully concealing his true emotions.

"You should eat," Louis gently instructed. "You didn't eat last night because you fell asleep."

"I know," Claire conceded. De-tangling herself from Louis' iron grip, Claire rose from her bed and stretched. Holding out her hand, Claire waited for Louis' to grab hold. She only had to wait a few seconds before Louis' frosty fingers enveloped hers, and then they walked into Claire's kitchen together. Claire quickly grabbed something to eat and then she and Louis went to sit on the living room couch while she ate. Louis turned on the television, randomly flipping through channels until he found a music video channel, from which emanated the riveting riffs, thunderous drumbeats and pounding bass of Claire's favorite genre of music: hard rock. Louis remained silent while Claire ate, his head minutely bobbing in time with the music.

"What are you thinking about?" Claire asked in between mouthfuls of food.

"Oh, nothing really," Louis fibbed, his eyes not meeting hers. "Just listening to the music."

"Louis, please," Claire said after swallowing the last of her breakfast. Claire got up and disposed of her dishes, coming back to find Louis as still as a statue. _He seems to be concentrating hard on something_, Claire thought internally.

"Louis, what is it?" Claire whispered, reaching for his hand. Louis' eyes suddenly popped open and he stood swiftly, startling Claire.

"I have to go," Louis finally said. "There are wolves close by, heading this way. I need to leave before they get here, especially if Quil is with them."

"Why?" Claire demanded. "I thought you were past all the fighting."

"The majority of us are," Louis acknowledged. "But, because I have taken from the pack, in Quil's mind, it's back to the way it used to be. I won't be far, I promise."

"All right," Claire pouted. "I don't want you guys to fight; so I guess this is for the best."

Louis gathered Claire into his arms, holding her briefly. Then he kissed her on the cheek and vanished, leaving his intoxicating scent wafting behind him. Claire went back to her room to find some clothes. After she had found a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve pink shirt, she dressed quickly and headed back to the living room. She didn't have to wait long before there was a thunderous knock on her door.

"Who is it?" Claire called out. She heard an exasperated sigh and then a light, musical voice rang out, "Claire, if you don't open this door right now, I'm going to break it down." Relief flooded through Claire's body as she opened the door to reveal her best friend. Renesmee looked ragged, like she had just finished running or something. Nessie strode past her and sank gratefully onto Claire's couch.

"Are you alone?" Claire asked, standing with her hand on the front door. Then a tall, muscular frame popped up from out of nowhere and grabbed her arm. Claire jumped and gasped, then upon recognizing her assailant, slapped him on the arm as hard as she could.

"Jake, you're an ass!" Claire chided as Jacob strolled past her to sit next to Nessie. "Is that all?" Claire questioned as she began to close the door. Just then, another burly hand shot forward to stop the door from closing. Claire opened the door again to face a very uncomfortable-looking young man.  
"Hey, Claire," Quil said softly, not meeting her eyes. "Can I come in?"

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Claire asked, a little snippier than usual. She gestured for Quil to enter, but he hesitated, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"Quil, relax," Jacob commanded. "Come inside and sit down." Quil visibly calmed down, his fists beginning to unclench. He shuffled forward and as Claire shut her door, took the open seat on the other side of Jake.  
"So what's up? You all just out for a run?" Claire inquired as she sat down on the other side of Renesmee.

"That's how it started," Renesmee began. "Jake and I were running around and we met up with Quil."

"And what were you doing, Quil?" Claire asked innocently, her brown eyes glancing over at Quil, who had been clenching and unclenching his fists until Claire's question broke through his stupor.

"Oh, nothing much," Quil replied quietly, not meeting Claire's gaze. "Just checking out a few things."

"We found him in the woods outside of your complex, actually," Jacob corrected. Claire stared Quil down hard, mentally trying to will him to look at her. Quil finally glanced over at her for a fraction of a second, and then returned his eyes to their dead-pan stare of the floor.

"What were you doing, Quil?" Claire repeated, struggling to control the tone of her voice. Quil mumbled something that Claire didn't quite catch, and that snapped her resolve.

"Damn it, Quil!" Claire cried aloud, jumping to her feet. "What the hell is the matter with you? All of a sudden you decide that you can't talk to me anymore? You can't be friends with me anymore? Please tell me what's going on, so I can understand!" Claire's chest heaved up and down, her blood boiling with rage. Her whole body was tense; Claire could feel every thread of sinewy muscle running throughout her limbs. Quil looked at her, shock lining his suddenly tired-looking face. Quil's eyes held a deep pain that Claire had never seen before. It dimmed Claire's anger, allowing her to relax and focus once more. She remained standing in the middle of the room, awaiting Quil's response.

"Maybe we should leave you two alone," Renesmee suggested as she stood up, grabbing Jake's arm as she did so. Claire glanced over at Nessie in appreciation, nodded her head and returned her eyes to Quil, who still had not moved or said anything since Claire's outburst. Jacob and Renesmee made their way to Claire's front door and opened it. Pausing just outside the door, Jake turned and said, "We'll be right here if you need anything."

"Thanks, Jake," Claire replied. "Would you do me a favor? Louis left right before you showed up; He said he wouldn't go far. Will you please find him and let him know what's going on, just so he doesn't worry?"

"Sure, no problem," Jacob answered. "We'll be right back." And Jake closed the door.

Claire turned her full attention back to Quil, to find him with his head in his hands. Claire's anger softened a little more as she drew closer, knelt down in front of Quil and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Quil?" Claire asked softly. "Will you _please_ talk to me?" Quil lifted his head from his hands, his eyes vulnerable and wet.

"You were supposed to be mine," Quil whispered, a single tear escaping from the corner of his eye. "Why, Claire? _How_ could you choose _him_ over me?!"

Claire sighed heavily. _I just have to tell him how I feel_, Claire encouraged herself.

"Look, Quil," Claire began. "I'm really sorry about how things have been between us recently. I never meant for anything like this to happen."

"Claire, I just don't under……"

"Quil, before you say anything else, I just want you to hear me out," Claire interrupted. Quil looked at her for a moment and then nodded his head.

"Thank you," Claire said, standing up to sit next to Quil on the couch. Claire took a deep breath, let it out slowly and continued, "Quil, I am going to tell you exactly how I feel. Please don't be angry with me, or at Louis, because it's not his fault, either."

Quil scoffed under his breath, but did not say anything else.

"I'm sorry that I don't feel things for you that you would like me to. It's not that I don't love you, because I do. I love you more than you may realize; I'm just sorry that it's not in the way you want." Claire reached over and grasped Quil's hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. "Quil, the majority of my memories have you in them. You've been a constant companion in my life and I love you dearly. I know you better than I know my own father. But now, I've met someone that I know I can't live without. And I'm sorry that it has to hurt you so deeply."

Quil squeezed her hand gently as another tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry that I've been such a jerk lately. Emily had been warning me that since you were so young when I imprinted on you, that things might not turn out like we expected. I guess I just didn't want to accept the fact that I couldn't keep you to myself."

"Quil, I want you to know that I'll always be here for you," Claire said softly, laying her head on Quil's massive shoulder. "You do know that, right?" Quil lay his head on top of hers, sighed and replied, "I know, Claire. And I'll always be here for you."

"I know, Quil," Claire acknowledged. "You know I love you." Quil lifted his head, and then pulled gently upwards under Claire's chin, so her eyes met his.

"I know you do," Quil retorted, his eyes sorrowful. "And I love you too. I just wish that it was enough." Claire leaded in slightly to give Quil a kiss on the cheek, but he stopped her, pressing a warm finger to her lips.

"Can I have one last thing before I let you go?" Quil inquired, his eyes hopeful yet wary. Claire was extremely hesitant, her heart twitching nervously at the idea. _What harm could one kiss do?_ Claire asked herself. _You know you love Louis, and there's nothing that will ever change that._ Finally, after some self-deliberation, Claire nodded her head and closed her eyes.

Quil gently guided her face towards his, pressing his warm lips first against her cheek, and then closing down over her mouth. Quil's steamy mouth moved against Claire's roughly, his hand closing around the base of her neck, pulling her forward. Claire's mind continued to picture Louis; his golden eyes and honey-colored hair, the icy chill of his skin moving across hers. After a few minutes, Claire pushed hard against Quil's chest, to get his attention. The lip-lock broke and Quil gazed at Claire with reproachful eyes, his breathing slightly erratic.

"I'm sorry if that was uncomfortable for you," Quil apologized. "But I had been dreaming about that for several years."

"I didn't want to be rude," Claire began, "but it kinda felt like I was kissing my brother, if I had one." Quil chuckled slightly and Claire joined in.

"I can see what you mean," Quil agreed. "I felt the same. I'll be good now."

"So, things between you and Louis will be all right?" Claire asked hesitantly. "At the very least, you two will be civil, right?" Quil sighed heavily and then replied, "Yes, Claire. I promise I'll behave."

Claire threw her arms around Quil's neck, hugged him tightly and whispered "Thank you" into the side of his neck. She released her hold on Quil, stood up to stretch and asked, "So do we let the others know that we're good now?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Quil said as he stood also. "Louis will want to know that you're safe."

Claire walked over to the front door and opened it to reveal Louis, lounging against the rail outside Claire's door. "Hey," Claire greeted Louis softly, stepping outside only to be enclosed in Louis' arms. Louis squeezed Claire gently, laying his head on top of hers.

"Is everything all right, chérie?" Louis' eyes flickered back and forth between Quil and Claire, awaiting a response.

"Yes, Louis," Claire assured him. "Everything is okay now. But first, I'd like to properly introduce the two of you." Claire lightly shrugged out of Louis' arms and grabbed Quil's hand, pulling him outside. "Louis, I'd like to introduce you to Quil Ateara. Quil, I'd like you to meet my Louis – Louis Cullen," Claire announced to the both of them.

Louis politely held out his hand, his face scrunched up from being so close to Quil. Quil's face mirrored Louis', his hand starting to quiver.

"Claire, I don't know if I have enough self-control to handle that," Quil replied softly, his voice shaking. "No offense," Quil said to Louis. Louis' hand instead reached out and grasped Claire's arm, pulling her gently towards the safety of his arms.

"None taken," Louis responded. "But thank you." Quil's eyes flashed to Louis' face skeptically, his eyebrow arched.

"Thanks for what?" Quil inquired curiously.

"For her," Louis answered, nodding down at Claire, who was resting her head against Louis' chest. "I have waited over two hundred years to find her. And thank you for keeping her safe all these years."

"I didn't do it for you," Quil shot back, his face reddening with anger. Claire reached out her hand and touched Quil's arm, his tremors beginning to subside under her touch.

"I know you didn't," Louis retorted, holding on to Claire with one arm. "But I thank you, nevertheless." An awkward silence ensued, leaving a heavy, stagnant feeling in the air.

"So…" Claire said, breaking the silence. "What are we going to do with what's left of today?"

Louis looked down at her and answered, "Well, Renesmee didn't have a chance to tell you, but her parents are in town."

"Really? Edward and Bella are here?" Claire inquired excitedly. Louis simply nodded his head and smiled in response. "Well that's great! I haven't seen them in quite some time. Can we go?"

"Yes, my love," Louis answered, his grin spreading. "Jacob and Renesmee have invited all of us over, including you, Quil."

"Awesome," Claire exclaimed. "Let's get going." Claire dashed back inside, grabbing her purse and her keys. Locking the door behind her, she returned to Louis' side and they headed out. After a few steps, Claire turned around to find Quil still standing in front of her door.

"Quil, are you coming?" Claire asked loudly. Quil's eyes focused on Claire's face as he answered, "You go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"Are you sure?" Claire inquired concernedly.

"Oh yeah, don't let me hold you up," Quil assured her. "I promise I'll be along in a little while."

"Well, all right," Claire conceded, unsure whether to believe Quil or not. "We'll see you later then."

Louis gently tugged on Claire's arm and guided her towards his Mercedes. An uneasy feeling lingered inside Claire's mind, gnawing at her insides. For some reason that Claire couldn't explain, she felt like this would be the last time she would see Quil. _Boy, I hope I'm wrong,_ Claire thought to herself as Louis sped away from her apartments, towards the forest concealing Jacob and Renesmee's home.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The dark forest flashed by Claire's window at blinding speeds as Louis flew around hair-pin turns, heading toward Nessie and Jake's house. Claire's agitation had not dissipated on the way over like she'd hoped it would. When they arrived, Renesmee was waiting for them outside, her bronze curls bobbing up and down in excitement as she bounded the length of the porch in one leap.

"Finally! I was starting to get worried," Renesmee called out, waiting at the top of the stairs. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes Renesmee, we're okay," Louis answered as he helped Claire out of the car.

"Where's Quil?" Nessie asked, her eyes flashing back and forth between Claire and Louis.

"He said he'd be along shortly," Louis replied, guiding a silent Claire up the stairs onto the porch.

"Claire, are you okay?" Renesmee inquired as the three of them entered the house. Louis immediately set Claire down on one of the sofas in the room. Claire still could not speak, her mind spinning as she thought about Quil and the feeling that had descended over her as they left him behind. _Something's not right; something's wrong_, Claire kept repeating to herself. _What is Quil planning on doing by himself? That's not the way the pack is supposed to work. The others would help if only he'd let him._

"Claire!" Renesmee's normally gentle voice broke through her thoughts loudly, bringing Claire back to herself. "Claire, what is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried about Quil," Claire said finally, looking around the room for the first time. Louis was kneeling in front of her, his icy hands grasping hers; Jacob and Renesmee stood a few feet away, Nessie's face focused on hers, her eyes full of concern; and for the first time in many years, Claire laid eyes on Renesmee's parents, Edward and Bella. _They look exactly the same as they did the last time I saw them_, Claire thought to herself.

"Our kind doesn't change much," Edward replied light-heartedly, responding to her thoughts. Edward chuckled quietly as both he and Bella gracefully strolled closer and sat on one of the sofas across the room. Claire tried to join in on his laughter but couldn't, worried thoughts of Quil still racing through her mind.

"Why are you so afraid for Quil?" Edward asked, forming his question in regards to her thoughts.

"Louis' maker, Lestat, is on his way," Claire began to explain.

"Yes, we know," Bella answered. "Alice called to tell us about it. That's one of the reasons that we're here."

"Okay, but what are you going to do?" Claire inquired.

"We're here to protect you," Edward replied.

"Why me?" Claire asked aloud with a sigh. "I wish that we could just run for it, but Louis already told me that wouldn't work."

"And he was right, especially if Lestat is anything like James was," Bella commented. "Once he set his mind to something, there was no stopping him."

"That's Lestat all right," Louis insisted, moving to sit next to Claire, on of his marble hands still enveloping hers.

Jacob and Renesmee continued to stand in the middle of the room, Nessie silently conversing with Jake, her ivory hand gently touching his russet face.

"What do you want me to do?" Jake implored quietly. Claire looked over again to see Nessie lower her hand and close her eyes. Jacob threw his arms around her, kissed her forehead lightly, releasing her as he turned to leave.

"Do you need help, son?" Edward asked, apparently in response to Jacob's or Renesmee's thoughts. Jacob simply shook his head and gazed at Edward for a moment, who responded with a slight nod, and then Jake turned and ran out the door.

"Where's he going?" Claire inquired, trying to make sense of their silent exchange.

"Jacob is going to phase and attempt to contact Quil," Edward explained, his voice honest and sincere. "Depending on Quil's intentions, Jacob may let him go or attempt to stop him."

"What's Quil planning to do?" Claire questioned, gripping Louis' icy fingers tightly.

"We're not exactly sure at the moment," Edward answered, his eyes flickering to Renesmee's face. "He knows about Lestat coming here, but we are still unclear as to his intent."

"How would he know about Lestat?" Claire demanded, her face frozen in a mask of horror. "I never said anything to him about it, so how did he find out?"

"Well, when the pack is in their wolf forms, they can hear each other's thoughts," Renesmee explained slowly, her eyes cautiously darting back and forth between Claire's face and the window, hunting for some sign of Jacob. "Their thoughts are as one, and so what one mind knows, the others know also. When one feels pain or anger or any emotions, the rest feel it as well."

"Wow," Claire gasped, trying to wrap her already congested mind around this new information. "So how is Jake going to stop Quil? He won't hurt him, will he?" Claire inquired hesitantly, unsure whether or not she really wanted to know the answer.

"No Claire," Edward replied. "Jacob is the Alpha, or leader, of the pack. If Jacob gives Quil an order, he has no choice but to obey."

Claire looked at Louis, whose perfect features were creased with concern – his molten gold eyes fixed upon her face; Claire sighed and smiled slightly, gently squeezing Louis' icy hand. He returned the pressure softly, a slight grin melting the frozen features of his face, but it did not touch his eyes. Just then, a howl ripped through the quiet evening, every head snapped towards the sound, except Edward's, and then all was still once more. The room continued its silent vigil, awaiting any word or sign from Jacob. A short while later, Edward's head turned toward the porch, as if someone had called his name.

"Nessie?" Edward spoke softly, inclining his head towards the outside of the house. Renesmee was out of her seat in a flash, the screen door closing with a squeak being the only evidence of her movement.

"What's going on?" Claire demanded, following Renesmee's quick movements to the best of her ability. "Where is she going?"

"Jacob is outside in his wolf-form," Edward began explaining, his eyes wary and full of concern. "He didn't want to phase back to relay the story. Jacob has been unable to locate Quil. Jake cannot 'feel' his presence, therefore Quil is in his human form, somewhere. Nessie and Jake are going hunting for him."

Claire inhaled sharply, almost to the point of pain. _What is he doing?_ Claire thought internally.

"We're not really sure; the only thing that we're sure of is that Quil doesn't wish anyone to know where he is, what he's doing or planning to do," Edward replied aloud. "That's why he won't phase to communicate with Jacob."

Claire lowered her head into her hands, one of Louis' icy palms coming to rest on the base of her neck, sending chills down her spine. "This is all my fault," Claire whispered solemnly, her eyes becoming wet.

"What makes you think that, Claire?" Bella inquired softly, a look of long-ago pain slowly creeping across her face.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes downcast and focused on the floor, Claire said, "Earlier today, I told Quil that I was in love with Louis. And he was upset that I had chosen a vampire over him." Claire glanced up to see Louis' face, a mask of serenity, his eyes the only traitors to his internal pain. "Quil's always been around, and I love him to death……just not that way. He's like a big brother to me, but he kept hoping that one day things would change. He kept saying that I was supposed to be with him; my Aunt Emily kept trying to tell him that since I was so young when he imprinted, that things may not turn out like he expected."

"I had wondered about that myself," Bella replied softly. "I vaguely remember it. Quil imprinted on you when you were only a baby, and my thinking, once they explained things to me, was 'How will this possibly work out?' and also 'Does she even have a choice in the matter?'"

Claire simply nodded her head, then laid it to rest on Louis' stone shoulder with a heavy sigh. "It will be all right, love," Louis whispered fervently, smoothing Claire's hair with his frigid hand, lightly pressing his icy lips to Claire's forehead.

"I hope you're right, Louis," Claire said quietly, burying her face in the cold crease between Louis' neck and shoulder. The clock moved lethargically, minutes dragging by as if a spell had been cast, slowing the progression of time itself. Claire would randomly lift her eyes from the dark protection of Louis' frame to glance at the clock, then at Bella and Edward – both of whom looked like living statues – and then returned her face to the sanctuary of darkness, nestled beside Louis' immaculate form.

A short while later, the rumbling of her stomach reminded Claire that she hadn't eaten anything since her breakfast that morning with Louis.

"Oh Claire, I'm so sorry," Bella said, breaking the silence. "I completely forgot. Nessie was supposed to cook dinner after you got here. Would you like me to make you something?"

Claire slowly lifted her head from Louis' shoulder, tilting it side to side to stretch the muscles of her neck. Inhaling slowly, she replied, "Yeah, that's really nice of you, Bella. Thanks. What was Renesmee going to make?"

"She was going to make enchiladas," Bella responded. "Would you like to give me a hand?"

"Sure, sounds like fun," Claire answered half-heartedly, her mind still lingering on Quil.

"Don't worry, Claire," Edward assured her. "We won't let anything happed to Quil, or to you." Edward smiled tentatively, hoping to ease Claire's mind, no doubt. Bella stood swiftly, yet gracefully, and began to make her way to the kitchen, gliding over the floor so smoothly, it almost looked as if she were floating. Claire sighed once again, leaned over to give Louis a gentle kiss on his frigid lips, then stood and followed Bella into the kitchen.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"What was it like for you when you first met Edward?" Claire asked while she and Bella were busy preparing her dinner.

Bella smiled sweetly as she answered, "It was hard at first. Seeing Edward for the first time was split between pure joy and infuriating aggravation. I had never laid eyes on anything so magnificent; the first class we had together, he nearly killed me. Of course, I didn't find that out until later, but at the time, all I kept thinking was 'How could he possibly hate me so much when we had never even said a single word to each other?'"

"That's almost exactly how it was when I met Louis," Claire replied, nodding her head slowly. "How long did it take Edward to come around?"  
"Well, we didn't actually get together right away," Bella explained. "He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself, first of all; my scent was so much more potent to him that anyone else's. Secondly, he felt that he was putting me in too much danger by just being around me. But, shortly thereafter, he decided he couldn't take being away from me any longer, so that was when we 'started dating'. That next fall, after the James incident, Jasper took a snap at me at the birthday party they were giving me. I had given myself a paper cut while trying to open one of my birthday gifts. Edward had decided then, at that time, it would be better if the whole family left. During those dark times," Bella paused as she shuddered slightly at the memory of her time without Edward, "well, I'll just say it was really bad. Anyway, that was how I grew really close to Jacob. We were almost inseparable, until Jacob became a wolf and I was introduced to the pack life."

Bella looked at Claire in a motherly sort of way as she put the pan of enchiladas into the oven.

"What happened net?" Claire inquired eagerly.

"Well, at that time, James' mate, Victoria, was after me," Bella recalled, her golden eyes distant, and yet still undeniably captivating. "Edward and his brothers had killed her mate, because he tried to kill me; she was trying to return the favor: mate for mate. Anyway, one day Jake had promised me he would take me cliff diving. Well, he was out running a patrol with his brothers so I decided I was going to go by myself. Alice saw me jump and I disappeared from her visions. She thought that meant that I was dead, and I would've been if it hadn't been for Jacob. But what Alice didn't know at that time was that she cannot see the pack. She raced home to Forks, and waited at my house. When I turned up, Jake was with me. Edward called, pretending to be Carlisle, and Jake answered, telling him that Charlie was planning a funeral. Alice had told Rosalie about what she had seen and Rose called Edward to tell him. Charlie was helping Sue plan her husband's funeral at the time, but Edward took it to mean _my_ funeral. Edward took off to Italy to visit the Volturi," Bella paused again as Claire shuddered this time.

"Louis told you a little about the Volturi, I take it?" Bella asked in response to Claire's physical reaction.

"Yeah, just a bit," Claire answered. "He told me about Irina and their mother."

"I see," Bella replied. "Well, Alice and I raced to Volterra to stop Edward. He had asked the Volturi to kill him, because he didn't want to live without me. They declined his request, so he decided to force their hand. I arrived just in time to stop him from exposing their kind, and the Volturi allowed us to leave, only after Alice had promised Aro, their leader, that I would become a vampire shortly thereafter. Outsiders are not supposed to know our secrets. We came back to Forks and we were together once again. Right after graduation, Victoria showed up with an army of newborns and attacked, intent on destroying me and any who got in her way. If it hadn't been for the pack, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

Claire nodded her head slowly as she said, "Yeah, I remember hearing stories about that battle from my Uncle Sam."

Bella smiled sweetly as she resumed her story. "During the time between our return from Italy and the attack of the newborns, I was torn between two good things. Edward had returned with me and finally decided that after being in a world where he thought I no longer existed, he couldn't bear for us to be apart. But, now that I was back with Edward, this caused an estrangement between myself and Jacob. Edward saw how much I was hurting, because I was causing Jacob pain, so he agreed to let me resume my friendship with Jake. But Jake had always wanted more than just friendship. I didn't realize how much I loved him until the day of the newborn attack. I knew, after being apart from Edward, that I couldn't live without him; but what about Jake? After an emotional conversation, Jake agreed to be my friend, nothing more. But I left a part of myself with him, knowing that I was to be married soon, and after that……we may not be friends anymore."

"So Edward and I got married and went on our honeymoon; I was still human at the time, and Edward fulfilled his promise to me about our having a sexual relationship before I became immortal. Thanks to that relationship, we had Renesmee. She developed about four times as fast as a normal human baby, with surprisingly advanced mental capabilities. Edward was able to hear her thoughts while she was still in the womb. I nearly died trying to give birth to her. Edward and Jacob worked together to keep me alive long enough for the venom to do its job."

"What was the venom like?" Claire interrupted, intrigued and terrified at the same time.

"The pain was unlike anything that you could imagine," Bella recalled quietly, as she checked on the enchiladas. "Edward shot a large amount of his venom directly into my heart, while Jake kept my heart moving, allowing the venom to spread and change my body. It took roughly three days for the change to be complete. When I realized the transformation was finished, I awoke to a whole new world. This life is unlike anything your human mind could comprehend." Bella paused again as Louis appeared in the doorway, his face serene and magnificent.

"Everything all right in here?" Louis inquired, looking at Claire lovingly.

"Yes Louis, we're just talking," Claire assured him.

"What about, my love?" Louis asked, coming to stand next to Claire, who was still entranced by Bella's story.

"I was just giving Claire a brief history lesson," Bella replied, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"Really? That sounds interesting," Louis mused as he brushed a few strands of hair out of Claire's face.

"It is, actually," Claire said, laying her hand on top of Louis' frigid one, where it had come to rest on top of her shoulder. "Would you mind terribly if she continues? I've got a few questions and I couldn't think of anyone better to ask."

"Not at all, chérie," Louis retorted, bringing her hand up to his mouth, pressing his pale frozen lips to her warm copper skin before turning her arm over and inhaling deeply at her wrist. "Mmm…exquisite," Louis murmured, moving his face closer to hers and placing his infinitely icy lips directly over hers. A jolt of electricity seared thru Claire's body, activating every fiber of her being in response to Louis' touch. Too soon, as always, Louis pulled away from Claire, his brilliant honey-gold eyes alight with a desire that mirrored her own.

"If you ladies will excuse me," Louis announced formally before removing himself from the kitchen.

"Louis?" Bella called out. "Will you and Edward please go check on Jake and Nessie?"

"Of course, Bella," Louis replied distantly, probably already in the front room. Claire could not hear any footsteps as the men left, but she assumed that they had departed when Bella resumed with her story.

"After Renesmee was born and my transformation complete, we were able to live quietly amongst ourselves for a few months, during which time Renesmee continued to develop rapidly. By the time she was only three months old, she had the physical appearance of a two-or-three year old toddler, while her mental capabilities surpassed all of our expectations. She could read and understand high school and college material, and she could speak quite articulately, although she preferred to communicate in her own way. Renesmee, we realized, could project her thoughts into the mind, but she needed physical contact to do so."

"That was probably the neatest and the freakiest thing I had ever seen when she showed that to me," Claire interrupted, her voice bright with intrigue. "Why does it work the way it does?"

"We're still not one hundred percent sure about that, Claire," Bella continued. "The way Edward explained it to me seems to be the most logical. Edward reads minds, while my mind is protected from all mental abilities. Nessie's gift is basically the reverse of ours; she projects her thoughts into the mind, and no one can keep her out. No ability every manifests in exactly the same way, so all we can do is speculate. Back to the story at hand," Bella sighed as she waited, making sure that Claire had finished with her interruptions for the moment. Claire nodded her head, anxious for Bella to continue.

"One day Jake, Nessie and I were out hunting and Irina showed up. No one but our family knew about Renesmee; our family now included the pack since Jake had imprinted on her. Anyone like us, who wasn't in the know, would have assumed that Renesmee was an immortal child, which she was, but since she was half-human/half-vampire, she was also able to mature and learn, while a _real_ immortal child, that is to say a child turned immortal, was no longer able to develop, physically or mentally. Irina took off, terribly upset. We didn't know until a few days later that she had decided to report us to the Volturi. Alice saw the Volturi's decision to eliminate us before Irina arrived, which meant that _their_ decision was already made; they were simply waiting for some pretext to come along so that they could act. Alice left with Jasper to search for another like Renesmee, although we were unclear that another half-immortal being even existed.

"Of course, we didn't know that's what Alice was doing; we simply thought that she and Jasper had fled, so that Aro could not get his hands on her. Aro coveted Alice's gift greatly, and we knew that Alice would stop at nothing to protect Jasper, first of all, and secondly, to keep her ability out of the Volturi's claws. Before she left, Alice left me a few clues, which she meant just for me so that Aro couldn't know about them. Aro's ability is similar to Edward's: while Edward can read your thoughts, he can only hear what passes through the mind right then. Aro, on the other hand, can read every thought your mind has ever had, with a single touch. I kept the secret from Edward, which hurt almost more than if I would have shared it with him. Alice had left me the name of a man who could produce documents that would pass the most rigorous of inspections. She left me a way to keep Renesmee alive. I purchased two sets of fake documents, one for Nessie and one for Jake. Even though we had only gotten to have her for a few months, I knew that no matter what happened to us, Jacob would keep Renesmee safe.

"We gathered as many others like ourselves as we could: Tanya and her family came down, plus many of Carlisle's friends and acquaintances from throughout the world. We convinced them that Renesmee wasn't really an immortal child, as it was understood at the time, and once they allowed her to _show_ them her side of the story, none doubted her. They all agreed to stay and witness her growth, for which we were, and still are, eternally grateful.

"The day the Volturi arrived, we had assumed that we were fighting a lost cause, but we refused to give up. Luckily, right before we were about to be liquidated, Alice reappeared with some help. She was able to locate another half-human/half-vampire by the name of Nahuel. He, along with his aunt Huilen, who was a full-fledged vampire, told of his story and how he and his sisters came to be. So since the Volturi now had proof of another half-immortal's existence, they no longer hand any cause to destroy us; although before Alice arrived to save our butts at the last minute, they were determined to find a reason. The pack was a tremendous help, as were our witnesses. From then on, we were able to live without fear from the Volturi, although we know it is probably only a matter of time before we see or hear from them again."

Bella finally fell silent as the timer on the oven sounded, and she removed the pan of enchiladas, which smelled heavenly, from the oven. She cut out a portion, placed it on a plate and set it in front of Claire, along with a large glass of milk.

"Thank you, Bella," Claire remarked, "for both dinner and your story. It was truly…fascinating."

"You're most welcome, dear," Bella replied, again looking at Claire in a motherly way. Bella paused for a moments, closed her eyes, furrowing her brow in deep concentration. After a moment, she opened her eyes again and smiled.

"What's going on?" Claire inquired as she began to consume the confection in front of her.

"I was letting Edward know that we hadn't finished talking," Bella explained. "You said that you had some questions for me?"

"I thought Edward couldn't read your mind," Claire remembered.

"Not normally," Bella conceded. "But I am now able to push my shield completely away from myself, so he can hear me."

"How were you able to do that?" Claire questioned curiously, slowly devouring her excellent dinner.

"It's taken many years of practice," Bella answered willingly. "Now before the others get close enough to hear, what questions did you have for me?"

"Oh right," Claire said as she finished her plate. "Well, the one question I really had been wanting to ask I don't need to anymore."

"Well, what was it?" Bella asked innocently. "Maybe I can tell you why you don't need to ask it anymore."

"Okay, I was going to ask 'What else could I do to get Louis to realize how much I needed him?'" Claire replied hesitantly.

Bella smiled, then she laughed – a high silver-bells sound – and said, "Well, I know for a fact that the reason you didn't need to ask that question any longer is because Louis called and spoke with Edward about how he should handle the situation."

"Louis talked to Edward about this?" Claire repeated in disbelief. "Why didn't he say anything to me about it?"

"You are Louis' 'singer'," Bella answered simply. "What that means is that your scent is much more powerful to Louis that it would be to another one like us,; they say that your blood 'sings' to him," Bella added in response to Claire's bewildered face.

"All right, so then why did Louis try to get to know me so quickly?" Claire inquired.

"Louis talked to Edward, as I said, and asked him how he had dealt with it when he met me," Bella explained. "Edward feels that when a vampire meets someone whose scent is so much more potent to them than that of other humans, or their singer in short, he feels that person was meant to be part of your existence, whether as a meal, or in the case of vegetarians like ourselves, as a companion. Now that the two of you have met and are a part of each others' lives, trust me when I say there's no going back. You won't be able to live without him, or he without you, without enduring intense physical and emotional pain."

Claire nodded her head slowly as she considered what Bella had said. After a moment of silence, the only sound in the room being Claire's heartbeat, she replied, "Now I understand. I feel anxious whenever I'm not around Louis, even now, although I know he's not far away. Knowing he's close by does make it easier to bear. But when Louis suggested that he leave for a little while because of Lestat's coming here, I felt like I would rather die than be separated from him."

Bella nodded her head wisely as she said, "Yep, you sound just like I did after I met Edward." Claire smiled slightly as she thought about how to phrase her next question. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again when she couldn't find the right words.

"What is it, Claire?" Bella asked concernedly, her amber eyes soft with compassion.

"I want to ask another question," Claire began, "but I don't know if it will come out sounding the way I want it to."

"Let me guess," Bella sighed. "Is what you want to ask 'How do I make him see that the only way for us to truly be together if for me to become like him?'"

Claire chuckled darkly as she inquired, "Are you sure you can't read my mind?"

Bella joined in on her dark humor briefly before replying, "No, I can't read your mind. But I know what I thought when I was in your position."

"How did you…" Claire began to ask. "Were you able to convince him at all?"

"It took time," Bella conceded. "I even had them vote on whether or not they wanted me as a part of their family."

"Wow," Claire breathed.

"In the end, Edward changed me to save my life, just as Carlisle had done for almost all of his family, with the exception of Alice and Jasper," Bella continued. "Alice was changed to protect her. James, the same vampire that tried to do away with me, found her in a sanitarium in the early nineteen-hundreds. Her parents had put her in there because of her premonitions, which eventually became her second sight. The doctor assigned to her was a vampire and he grew attached to her. When James came for her, the doctor changed her in order to keep her safe. So James destroyed the doctor for what he'd done to protect Alice. Jasper, on the other hand, was created by southern vampires in the midst of the Civil War. During those times, some vampires created armies of newborns and there were great wars between our kind over feeding grounds. Jasper was in charge of the newborns. He trained them to fight, and when they'd outlived their purpose, he would destroy them."

Claire gasped in horror at the idea of Jasper being so violent.

"Don't just him too harshly," Bella responded. "That was the only way of life he had known until he left with some friends that he helped to escape. While they continued to feed on human blood, they began a much more peaceful existence. Unfortunately for Jasper, due to his gift – in addition to being able to control the emotions of those around him – he could also feel the fear of his victims, and it caused him to become depressed. Eventually he left his companions and wandered alone, until he found Alice. They've been together ever since, and eventually they showed up at Carlisle's door and adopted them as their family."

"So do you think Louis will ever change me?" Claire questioned hopefully.

"I imagine that he will someday," Bella answered thoughtfully. "But if it isn't done to save your life, it will be on his own time. More than likely, you won't be able to persuade him to do it before he's ready. But, he's a different person than Edward, so who knows?"

Claire considered everything that Bella had explained to her very carefully. She remained silent as Bella took her dishes and rinsed them off in the sink before loading them into the dishwasher. Claire inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly as she said, "Thanks again for telling me all this, Bella. It helped me a lot."

"You're more than…" Bella began to say, before she whipped her head towards the back door with an alarmed look on her face.

"What is it?" Claire demanded, her dark brown eyes darting from Bella's face to the back door and back again. "Bella, what's wrong?"


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"They weren't able to find Quil anywhere," Bella replied, her gorgeous face creased in concern.

"What?!" Claire cried aloud. "What happened to him?"

Before Bella had to chance to answer, Renesmee appeared in the doorway, her bronze curls tousled from their excursion, followed by Jacob, Edward, and lastly, still looking impossibly beautiful, came her immortal angel.

"We were unsuccessful in locating Quil," Louis said softly, gathering Claire in his arms. "We followed his scent through the woods for a few miles; where the road leading to Denali cuts through, his scent vanished, like he had a car waiting for him."

"Where would he have gone?" Claire whispered, her face buried in the cool crease of Louis' neck. The room was silent for a few moments, the only distinctive sound being the gently hum emanating from the dishwasher.

"Has anyone called Alice?" Renesmee thought aloud, the end of her question being drowned out slightly by the ringing of a phone. "Speak of the devil…"

Edward pulled a sleek silver cell phone out of his pocket and brought it up to his ear in flash. "Alice," Edward said abruptly, then began to nod his head as Alice explained whatever is was that she had seen. "When?" Another brief pause. "Where were they headed?" Edward nodded his head and grimaced as he shut the phone.

"What is it?" Claire demanded. "Where's Quil?"

"Alice can't see Quil, remember?" Edward reminded her. Claire let out a low moan, burying her face into Louis' chest.

"But Alice did see Lestat," Edward continued. Every head in the room snapped up, locking their eyes on Edward's face, a low growl rumbling through Louis' chest. "Lestat was sitting in a dimly lit area; Alice couldn't tell where. He never said anything, but then all of a sudden, he vanished."

Claire gasped aloud, clapping her hands over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. "Lestat has Quil," she breathed, her mind begging for this not to be true, but was unable to convince herself.

"I'm sorry, Claire," Edward said, answering her thought. "But that conclusion appears to be the most likely answer to what Alice saw. Why else would Lestat just disappear?"

Claire hid her face against Louis' chest again, desperately fighting back the hot tears threatening to spill over.

"But why would Lestat take a werewolf hostage?" Renesmee inquired, trying to rack her brain along with the others, searching for an answer. "What's the purpose?"

Nobody spoke, each one pondering the situation. Claire tried not to think about it too hard, not because she didn't care about Quil, but because she cared too much. It caused her pain to consider what might be happening to Quil at that very moment in the hands of a sadistic vampire. She shuddered roughly, the tremors running throughout her entire body. Louis rubbed her back gently, silently trying to reassure her.

"Don't fret, my love," Louis whispered. "We'll find Quil, and we'll take care of Lestat." Louis' voice took on a dark edge as he said his maker's name, frightening Claire slightly. Before long, Claire began to get drowsy, her eyelids fighting to stay open. She yawned deeply, giving herself away.

"Let's get you home, chérie," Louis replied in response.

"What about Quil?" Claire inquired through another yawn.

"I promise that we'll find him," Edward said softly, his angelic face fading in and out as Claire fought against the edges of unconsciousness.

"Sleep, Claire," Bella instructed. "We'll take care of everything."

Louis lifted Claire easily into his arms, cradling her head gently into his chest. Claire realized that she should stop them from trying to go after Lestat, but was too far gone to form any kind of articulate speech. The next thing Claire knew, Louis was carrying her once again.

"You're home, ma chérie," Louis whispered into her ear. Louis carried her up the stairs to her apartment, easily shifting her entire bodyweight to only one arm, opening the door to her apartment with the other.

"Did you have my key?" Claire whispered, yawning widely once again.

"No, you must have left it unlocked," Louis replied quietly, sniffing for any sign of danger as he carried her to her bedroom. "Nobody's been here recently except you, me, your roommate, Jake, Nessie and Quil; try not to worry so much. Now go back to sleep."

Louis lowered Claire gently onto her bed; Claire's fingers locked in a death grip on Louis' shirt, pulling him down onto the bed with her.

"Don't leave me," Claire begged, her voice soft and rough with sleep, another yawn escaping her lips.

"I won't go anywhere tonight," Louis assured her, wrapping the blanket around her and settling down, cradling Claire against his chest.

"Thanks," Claire sighed. "Je t'aime, mon amour." Her eyes closed.

"As I love you, ma chérie," Louis whispered, his frosty lips brushing the top of Claire's forehead. And Claire drifted off into darkness, hoping that Louis' presence would be enough to stave off her nightmares.

Claire's dreams flickered back and forth between Louis and Quil; the conversation that had taken place just hours before kept replaying in her mind. Then Renesmee's face floated to the forefront of her dreams: _But why would Lestat take a werewolf hostage?_ And then Claire saw two separate pictures: one of her with Quil and one of her with Louis. Then something in Claire's brain clicked into place: her scent was all over both Louis _and_ Quil. Had Lestat caught her scent mixed with Louis' and come looking for her? But then he stumbled upon Quil, covered in her scent also. The panic she felt must have woken her, because the next thing she knew, she bolted upright in her bed, covered in a cold sweat, her heart racing. Claire struggled to slow her breathing down, jumping slightly as something icy brushed against her cheek.

"Claire, what's wrong?" Louis demanded, his voice soft yet fierce with concern. Claire grabbed his hand, pressing it close to her heart, allowing Louis' soothing presence to seep into her soul, which calmed her down immensely. She knew that she must not let Louis find out what she had discovered, because then how would she be able to save Quil? But she also realized that she mustn't decide to do anything to save Quil until right before she needed to do so. She didn't want Alice or anyone else trying to stop her.

"Claire?" Louis pleaded quietly. "Chérie, please talk to me. What's the matter?"

"I'm all right, Louis," Claire breathed. "It was just a bad dream, that's all." Claire finally looked at Louis, who was crouched next to her bed, his gorgeous face lined with anxiety. "Really, Louis, I'm okay," Claire sighed, releasing his hand and placing her warm copper-toned hand against Louis' frigid, marble cheek. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

Louis searched Claire's face, looking for some sign of misdirection on her part. Claire focused on calming herself, to keep her features relaxed. Apparently, Louis bought Claire's benign deception, because a grin spread across his face slowly as he said, "If my heart were still beating, you'd have given me a coronary."

"I did say I was sorry," Claire reminded him, a small smile creeping across her face as well.

"Yes you did," Louis acknowledged. "And you're forgiven."

"I knew I would be," Claire said triumphantly, her grin somewhat smug. "So what's the game plan for today? Are you going to look for Quil?"

"Not yet," Louis answered. Horror flashed across Claire's face, only to be replaced by anger.

"But why not?" Claire demanded furiously. "It's my fault that he ran off and I know that I won't be able to find him, so I need you to do it for me, because…"

"Shh," Louis hushed, one of his icy fingers pressed gently against her lips to silent her ranting. "You didn't give me a chance to finish."

"Oh," Claire gasped, her cheeks flushed with crimson. "Sorry, Louis."

"We are going to look for him today, but we are all going hunting first, to keep our strength up," Louis explained slowly.

"All right," Claire replied quietly. "So when are you all leaving?"

Instinctively, at the thought of being separated from him, Claire pulled on Louis' hand, to bring him closer to her. Louis stood swiftly, then sat next to Claire on her bed. Claire climbed into Louis' lap, curled up in her blanked and began tracing the smooth, untarnished plane of Louis' face with her fingertips.

"Not for another few hours," Louis said, his warm, amber eyes intent on Claire's face. "Why do you ask?"

Claire continued to move her warm digits across Louis' face, down his smooth, ivory neck, to his collar. Slowly, her eyes never leaving Louis', she undid the buttons of his shirt, allowing her fingertips to flutter down Louis' exquisite, marble chest. A deep shudder rippled through Louis' body, his eyes closing as he gave way to the pleasure of his feelings. Claire slid Louis' shirt off his broad shoulders and tossed it aside, her fingers always in constant contact with Louis' icy skin. Louis reopened his eyes as Claire began kissing his neck, gently at first, then more fervently, her own body shuddering as bolts of electricity and tongues of fire licked their way through her limbs.

"Claire," Louis moaned, his breathing ragged with passion. "Loot at me, chérie,"

She halted her kissed, which had traveled down his neck to his shoulders, then across his broad, chiseled chest. Bringing her head up slowly, her dark mocha eyes moved to capture his, her fingers splayed across his chest. She waited silently as Louis struggled to find his voice.

"Claire, what are you doing?" Louis inquired gently. "Okay, maybe I should rephrase. Why did you decide to do this now?"

"Louis, I love you," Claire replied, her voice barely more than a whisper, but she knew that Louis would have no problem hearing her. "More than I've ever loved anyone. I can't bear to be without you. And soon, you'll be leaving me."

"But, Claire…" Louis began, but now it was Claire's turn to silence Louis, pressing a warm finger to his stone-cold lips.

"Please, let me finish," Claire begged. She paused, holding her breath, until Louis nodded for her to continue. Claire exhaled, lowered her hand from his mouth and returned to tracing the perfection that was Louis' chest. She took a deep breath and continued.  
"Louis, you're about to leave me to hunt down your maker. And that's because of me. I know you'll try to convince me that it's not my fault, but save your breath. All I want it to show you how much I love you and how much you mean to me, if you'll let me."

"Claire, I…" Louis stumbled, his resolve faltering. "What if you get hurt in the process? How could I live with myself, knowing that I did that to you?"

"Louis, I honestly don't think you have it in you to hurt me," Claire answered. "I'm not saying that you're not capable of doing so; trust me, I'm not that dense. But I think you love me so much that you couldn't bear to hurt me, so you're not going to."

"Claire, I would rather die a thousand deaths than to see you in pain," Louis professed softly, his brilliantly golden eyes alight with sincerity.

"That's all I needed to hear," Claire whispered, her lips brushing against Louis' cheek.

And then her mouth closed over his, moving roughly in time to the beat of her heart, which was escalating rapidly. Louis' icy, marble hands were now at her waist, his fingertips gently brushing against her taut stomach. Claire shuddered deeply with pleasure, every fiber of her being acknowledging the electric current running throughout her body in response to Louis' touch. She shifted her position in Louis' lap, her legs now straddling his waist. Claire, struggling to remember how to breathe, broke their passionate kiss, inhaling deeply. Louis' frigid lips instead moved along her jaw line, down her neck to the hollow of her throat, and then back up the other side; everywhere he touched left an icy trail of fire along her skin.

His hands drifted upwards, bringing the edges of her shirt along with them. Claire lifted her arms from around Louis' neck, allowing her shirt to be pulled over her head and then tossed aside. Louis inhaled deeply at the sight of Claire's bare upper body, her breasts firm and supple. His eyes roamed over every inch of her exposed flesh, the expression on his face one of adoration and wonder.

"Chérie, you are divine perfection," Louis whispered into Claire's shoulder as he gathered her close, her bare breasts pressed against his exquisite marble chest. Another ripple of pleasure pulsed through Claire's body, while Louis resumed his kisses and the exploration of her body.

Louis' kisses traveled down her neck to her shoulders, moving from one side to the other. His lips slowly traveling southward, they moved across her clavicle on both sides, and Claire inhaled sharply as Louis' icy mouth brushed against the top of her breasts. His hands gently and effortlessly lifted Claire up, putting her breasts in range of his icy mouth. Fire quickened her body, causing her to grow damp with pleasure in her most secret of places as Louis' lips moved over her nipples, caressing them with his icy tongue. Claire moaned with exquisite pleasure as Louis shifted their position with blinding speed. She now lay on her back, Louis' immortal perfection hovering over her.

As he kneeled over her, Claire's hands reached down and unbuttoned his pants, easing them down his slender hips. Louis moved to stand next to the bed, removing his shoes, then his pants at an infuriatingly human pace. Claire gazed at Louis' nakedness, marveling in his sheer perfection. Next, he sat on the edge of the bed beside her, and slowly began to remove her bottoms. Louis' amber eyes, alight with desire, roamed over the lower region of her – now bare – body, a look of pure wonder on his angelic face.

A sweet smile lit Claire's features as she realized that Louis loved her as much as she loved him. Louis moved to the edge of her bed and carefully climbed up, gently positioning himself between her legs. Claire could feel his growing manhood, pressing against the inside of her warm thighs. Louis leaned over her, his face hovering inches above hers, his butterscotch eyes warm with the same passion mirrored in her own.

"Claire," Louis began softly, "you must let me know immediately if you are in any kind of pain. Do you hear me, chérie?"

"Louis, the only way that I would be in pain, after the initial moment, would be if I resisted in some way," Claire replied, her warm brown eyes soft and sincere. "Believe me when I say, there is not an ounce of resistance in me right now."

"That's what I needed to hear," Louis whispered, his icy lips closing over hers.

And then he surged forward, taking her completely. Claire gasped, breaking their kiss but keeping her eyes locked onto Louis' face. A pinprick of pain, which passed almost as quickly as it came, and Claire was swimming in an ocean of ecstasy. Louis moved gently, his hips grinding into hers, heightening her growing pleasure. Claire's body, slowly moving in rhythm with Louis', continued to float on the verge of sheer exquisiteness. Louis' cool breath washed over her face, and his frigid lips were once again on hers, moving with a gentle, yet fervent abandon. Claire's hips began moving in a more hectic rhythm, increasing her individual pleasure it its peak. Louis broke their kiss this time, moving his lips along her jaw line, coming to pause at the hollow in her throat. A moan of pure delight escaped from Claire's lips, slightly parted as she inhaled deeply; her back arched as she climaxed, a fresh wave of exquisiteness washing over her body. Louis moved inside her deeply, a soft growl of pleasure escaping as he came, bursting to life like a supernova.

His whole body quivered in ecstasy as he slowed, his frame shuddering to a stop. Louis lifted his head to gaze at Claire, who was looking down on him lovingly.

"Are you all right?" Louis inquired softly as he moved out from between her legs, gently scooting her body over so he could lay next to her. Claire breathed slowly and deeply, basking in a cloud of post-coital bliss.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked in response, a look of sheer contentment on her face.

"I didn't hurt you at all?" Louis questioned, his golden eyes wary with concern.

"Louis, I just experienced one of the greatest feelings ever," Claire assured him. "Pain is at the extreme other end of the spectrum from what I feel right now." She smiled at him serenely as she leaned closer to him, placing her warm lips directly over his. "I love you, Louis Cullen."

"As I love you, Claire Young," Louis whispered, placing a sweet peck on the tip of her nose. Louis gathered Claire close, wrapping a blanket around her, while she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Cherie?" Louis spoke.

"Mmm?"

"Would you be terribly angry with me if I had to leave while you're asleep?" Louis inquired softly.

"Why would you have to leave?" Claire asked through a yawn.

"We have to go and look for Quil, remember?" Louis said.

"Oh yeah," Claire replied, a small part of her brain registering the part about Quil, but she pushed it aside quickly, not wanting to spoil this most perfect of moments. "When will you be leaving?"

"Probably here shortly," Louis conceded, brushing his hand over her head as another yawn escaped through Claire's lips. "I'm sure that Alice has been searching for a blind spot in her visions so we have somewhat of an idea where to look."

"Mmm-hmm," Claire murmured, her eyelids fluttering shut. Claire felt Louis' icy lips brush against her forehead and heard him say, "Sleep, my love. Everything will be all right, I promise." And Claire once again succumbed to darkness as Louis held her close.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Claire awoke covered in a hot, sticky sweat, her thick quilt wrapped around her tightly. She glanced around her room as she untangled herself. Louis was gone, as he said he would be. She had only been asleep for a few hours, so Louis couldn't have been gone long. Claire felt a tense anxiety settle over her, not knowing exactly where Louis was, but knowing that he and the others were out hunting for Quil, who was being held captive by Lestat. Claire shuddered as she pushed that disturbing thought from her mind, but she could not forget the horrifying images from her latest nightmare.

She had dreamt of Quil, bloody and bruised, laying in a crumpled heap at the feet of a shadowy figure; his burning red eyes were the only outstanding feature of his dark countenance. She had yelled at Quil to phase and protect himself, but he either wouldn't or he couldn't hear her. But Lestat did. He lifted his eyes from Quil's battered form, a gleam shining off his razor-sharp teeth as he smiled devilishly at her, his feral-red eyes darkening with thirst. Lestat stepped over the unmoving form of Quil, slowly stalking his desired prey. Claire tried to run; as soon as she turned her back, she felt a searing pain on the back of her shoulder and white-hot flames began shooting through her body as she fell to the ground. Claire turned her face upward to see Lestat standing over her, his flaming red eyes glistening, a trickle of her ruby-red blood seeping from the corner of his ivory mouth, wide with an evil smile.

Claire shook her head roughly, trying to dismiss the disconcerting vision from her thoughts. She tossed her covers back and stood up, stretching her stiff muscles. She walked over to her dresser and paused as she was about to open one of her drawers, noticing two separate, folded pieces of paper, both addressed to her. One was in Louis' elegant script, while the other was in Quil's handwriting. She picked up Louis' letter first, opened it and read:

**'My dearest Claire,**

**In parting from you, I have left heaven for hell. Before you came into my life, I was surrounded by darkness. I traveled endlessly on a dark and lonely road, unsure if I would ever find solace or rest. You were like a candle in the dark, a bright, shining beacon of light and hope, guiding me to a place of warmth, comfort and safety. Please rest assured that I shall return to your side as soon as inhumanly possible, and after that, will never ever leave it again, if I can help it. I love you more than words can possibly say and, upon my return, will take every opportunity to prove it to you. I am, eternally yours. Je**** t'aime****, ma ****chérie****.**

**Louis'**

Claire lowered the paper, wiping a few tears from her eyes. She held the letter close to her heart, thanking her lucky stars that fate had led her to Louis; her smile faded from her lips as she picked up Quil's letter. She still loved him and hated the fact that she had to hurt him in order to be happy with Louis. She opened the letter and read:

'Claire, I'm writing this so I can tell you good-bye. It hurts like hell for me to see you with someone like _**him**_. I want you to always be happy, even if it's not with me. I'm sorry to leave you, but I just can't sit around and watch. I'm not sure where I'll go, but I won't phase anymore. I don't want Jake giving me some Alpha order forcing me to stay. I'll be in the hollow – the one about 5-6 miles off the trailhead, the one leading off the road to Denali – until midnight, the day after tomorrow. If you can get away from your "friend" and want to see me one last time, I'll be waiting for you. If you don't show up, I'll know how much you really feel for me, and I'll take off and promise that you won't ever have to worry about seeing me again. I hope that you'll come, but I'm not gonna get my hopes up. I hope you're truly happy and I love you, now and forever.

Quil'

Claire set Quil's note down, gathered some clothes and headed to the bathroom with a heavy heart. She felt an immense weight settle over her as she realized that she may never see Quil again. Lestat had Quil held captive God-knows-where, Louis and the others were looking for him because she had asked them to. Claire turned on the shower, undressed and stepped into the hot water, allowing the steaming spray to relax the tension out of her tight muscles. She shed a few tears for Quil, but trusted Louis and the others to find him, no matter how slim a possibility that may be. Claire turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and then froze in fear. Quil's note was stuck to the wet mist that clung to the mirror, next to a message written on the foggy glass.

**'Whatever is left of your wolf will be waiting for you in the clearing, as will I. See you soon – Lestat'**

Claire gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth as she realized that her dreams had forewarned her of this exact outcome. She dressed hastily, eager to leave knowing that Lestat had just been in her room. Grabbing her keys, Claire dashed out the door as fast as she could. She raced down the stairs, sprinting across the parking lot and threw herself into her Mustang. Claire gunned the engine to life, peeling out of the parking lot. She flew through town, heading towards the already darkening forest. The sky was still somewhat lit, the sun already having descended behind the trees, but not having set for the evening.

It took Claire half the time to reach the trailhead than it normally would've, her mind focused on one thing only: Quil. She pulled off to the side of the road, where she and Louis had stopped only a few days earlier. Grabbing the flashlight out of her emergency roadside kit, Claire got out of the car. She hesitated on the edge of the trees, then forced herself to move forward, knowing that Louis or someone else would come looking for her soon enough.

The forest was eerily quiet, the crunch of leaves and twigs breaking under her feet the only sounds, which seemed to echo loudly in the all-but-silent expanse. Claire flicked on the flashlight after a while, the forest growing steadily darker as the evening wore on. She cursed herself silently for leaving her hair down, the dark locks constantly snagging on tree-limbs and bushes as she pushed her way through them. Alone in the blackness, Claire trudged onward, hoping desperately that she wouldn't get lost in the vast forest. After what felt like days, Claire noticed that the trees were beginning to thin; her breath hitched in her chest as she pushed through the low-hanging branches, which revealed the clearing.

Flicking off the flashlight, Claire paused to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness enveloping her. The forest glen, which had been so beautiful and serene when she was here with Louis, now seemed to take on a frightening appearance. She supposed that if she had been there at night for any other reason, the view would have been equally as beautiful as it had been in the daytime. The moon shone into the glen through the gap in the canopy, casting a pale, eerie glow over the forest floor.

Claire scanned the tree-line for any signs of Quil or Lestat, but could see nothing. Cautiously, she moved out of the trees and into the clearing, continuously glancing all around her for either friend or foe. A few yards away, Claire saw an extremely large and misshapen log laying on the ground. A few steps closer, the moonlight threw into greater relief the details of the object, and Claire caught a glimpse of russet reflecting the pale beams. Forgetting everything else, Claire stumbled over her own feet in her haste to get to Quil's side. Her breath caught in her chest as she carefully rolled Quil onto his back.

Dried bloodstains criss-crossed the whole of Quil's body, although Claire could see that all the wounds had already healed. Quil's breathing was slow and shallow, his skin still fiery to the touch. She shook Quil's shoulder gently in an attempt to rouse him. "Quil? Can you hear me?"

A dark chuckle emanated from the inky-black nothingness, seemingly from everywhere. Claire's head snapped up, her eyes darting in every direction, trying to locate the source.

"No, my dear, he cannot hear you," the voice replied from the darkness, sending chills down Claire's spine.

"What did you do to him?" Claire said, struggling to hold her voice steady.

"Oh you needn't worry about him," he answered, followed by another sinister laugh. "I gave him a heavy dose of a sleeping agent I happened across that I had planned to use on you. He'll be fine…eventually, unless you force me to change my mind."

She stood slowly, steeling her inner resolve in order to face her love's sadistic maker. Claire began to retrace her steps in reverse, futilely attempting to distance herself from the being lurking in the shadows around her.

"Going somewhere?" the voice echoed throughout the night. Claire gasped as a deathly-pale face floated into view out of the darkness in front of her, freezing her in her tracks with his fiery glare.

"N-no," she stuttered as she silently tried to will her legs to move. "I…uh, just wanted you to be able to have a better view."

"Well," Lestat mused, "that was very…considerate…of you, my sweet." His ivory form slowly emerged from the blackness; his chest was bare, shimmering slightly in the moon's silvery beam, his legs clad in form-fitting leather pants. Lestat paused over the still form of Quil, moving his head to the side with his dirt-caked bare foot.

"Don't touch him!" Claire whispered furiously. She had meant to scream it, but had found her throat parched from fear. Lestat lifted his gaze, his feral-red eyes now the flat, dead black that Claire knew sealed her fate.

"A bit testy, are we?" Lestat responded lightly, as if teasing an old friend. "Why do you care about what happens to this _dog_?"

"That _dog_ happens to be like a brother to me," Claire seethed through her teeth, her jaw locked in anger.

Lestat chuckled as he stepped over Quil's body, bringing himself closer to Claire's terror-stricken form. Claire forced her heart into a slower rhythm, acutely aware of the sadistic vampire closing the distance between them.

"So how does Louis feel about your pet-brother here?" Lestat questioned. Claire gritted her teeth together, suddenly wishing that _**she**_ was a vampire, strong and invincible, so she could shut his mouth.

"They are…civil to each other," Claire replied aloud, _for my sake only_, she thought to herself.

"How sweet of them to act that way 'for your sake only'," Lestat said, shocking Claire immensely. _Can he read my thoughts?_ she inquired silently, taking note that Lestat's circle around her had brought him even closer.

"Yes chérie, I can," Lestat said, answering her silent query. A pang of pure fear jolted its way through her body as she realized exactly what this revelation meant.

"Well, you're not the only person I know that can do that," Claire whispered, struggling to keep her heart from going into cardiac arrest, her breathing short and shallow.

"Ah yes, one of the vegetarians," he resounded, "I had nearly forgotten about them. I must say, I never understood what Louis saw in that lifestyle; he tried to live that way right after I turned him."

"He may not be human anymore, but he still has a good heart and that's what he follows," Claire replied, her voice strong and full of emotion, "not the wayward teachings of a deranged lunatic."

In a flash, Lestat had appeared in front of her, his beautifully frightening face only inches from hers, his icy hands tightly gripping her arms.

"Don't…test…my patience," Lestat seethed, his cool breath washing over Claire's face with nearly the same intoxicating effect that Louis' had on her. Claire struggled to remain calm, knowing that Lestat could easily break her arms with a mere twitch of his hands. Lestat leaned slowly forward, inhaling deeply as he did so.

"Mmm…I can guess one of the reasons Louis chose you," Lestat said, his mouth against her ear. "You smell delicious, my dear."

"I…uh…smell better to Louis than I do to you," Claire replied, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm his singer."

"_La tua cantante_?" Lestat exclaimed, backing up a few steps. "Well, isn't he the lucky one? So how does he manage it? Not killing you, I mean?"

"It's not without difficulties," Claire sighed, breathing slightly easier thanks to the distance restored between her and her adversary. Throbbing painfully as blood made its way back to her hands following the removal of the stone tourniquets that had encircled her arms, Claire studied her opponent as discreetly as she could.

"You won't leave this place alive," Lestat replied casually, as if her were commenting on something as benign as the weather. "And you precious Louis won't be able to save you. I am curious, however," he paused, glancing from Claire to Quil and back again. "You knew who I was thanks to my dear wayward Louis. And you knew that I had taken your pet here thanks to my note…"

"No," Claire interrupted, her voice defiant and clear. "I knew that you had taken Quil, but I knew thanks to a friend who can see the future. Louis had asked her to keep an eye on you after she saw that you decided to visit. The wolves…she can't see them, so once you had taken Quil, you disappeared as well."

"Intriguing," Lestat mused airily. "So how is it that you are here and Louis is not?"

"I had him and the others go hunting for you and Quil, but since you were in a car, it cut off the scents and so they had to do it blind," Claire explained. "Even if I couldn't save Quil, I didn't want Louis here. I was trying to protect him from you."

"Protect him from me?!" Lestat exclaimed incredulously. "Why on earth would you want to do a thing like that?!"

"Because I love him," she answered simply.

"Love? There is no such thing for us," Lestat sneered, his black eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Those who do not feed on humans, the vegetarians, are able to experience true bonds of love and friendship," Claire responded. "Louis loves me and I love him. Whenever we are apart, I feel like a large part of myself if missing, and the same for him. We complete each other."

"How touching," Lestat said mockingly, pretending to weep in his hands. Claire had finally had enough and decided to end it. With a sense of déjà-vu, she turned and began to flee, but as she did so, she waited for the inevitable moment when the steel bands would close around her chest.

Within a split second, the vice-like arms closed around her, stopping her dead in her tracks. With a quick squeeze, Claire heard several snaps at once – Lestat had shattered her ribcage – and Claire felt the sharp pain on the back of her shoulder as Lestat bit her. It took a few seconds before the majority of her pain registered in her brain. By that time, Lestat had released her, allowing her broken body to fall to the forest floor, Claire shouting in agony as she landed.

Every heaving breath Claire took felt like knives cutting through her insides, the white-hot flames beginning to trail their way through her body. Claire struggled to slow her breathing in an attempt to decrease some of her pain. Slowly, Claire turned her head to see a wavering figure of Lestat hovering over her, his form blurred by the tears in her eyes. Her vision faltered, temporarily going black due to the pain forcing her into lapses of consciousness.

"I told you that you wouldn't leave this place alive," Lestat laughed, his eyes once again a fiery-red, a trickle of her blood running down his chin. And then she was pulled back to reality by the only sound in the world that mattered.

"And neither will you," Louis' voice growled fiercely.

Claire turned her head slowly towards the sound, struggling to focus her eyes. She saw the indistinct forms of a group of pale figures emerging from the darkness. Claire blinked furiously to clear her vision, and saw the faces of her vampire family: Edward, Bella, Renesmee, a huge russet-colored wolf that would only be Jacob, and her immortal angel. Upon seeing Louis' beautifully, pain-stricken face, a wave of unimaginable pain washed over her, causing her to scream out against her will, and she succumbed to a temporarily pain-free dark void.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The blissful numb of unconsciousness did not last. Pain, unlike anything Claire had ever felt, racked her body back into consciousness as she lay in a heap on the forest floor. Tears coursed down her lacerated face, the bleeding lines stinging as the salt-water rivers burned their way down. Claire felt as though a boulder was resting squarely on her chest, diminishing her lung capacity and causing the knife-life pains to slice through her with every breath. Meanwhile, the fiery venom slowly and torturously continued to burn its way through her veins.

Claire felt the chilly wind brush against her skin, sending painful shivers throughout her body; she also felt the pounding of large paws thudding against the ground, which intensified her already unendurable pain. She clamped her teeth together in an attempt to hold back a shriek, but she only partially succeeded as a long moan escaped her lips. Soon, Claire felt gentle yet icy hands grasp hers, then move to her face where they fluttered over her skin.

"Claire..." Louis called softly, his agony-filled golden eyes already beginning to darken in response to the scent of her free-flowing blood. "Cherie, can you hear me?" With great difficulty, Claire drew a shallow, pain-filled breath and whispered, "Louis...," so faint that she could barely hear herself; she knew that he would hear it regardless as she bit her tongue, tasting her won blood as she did so, to keep from screaming.

"Oh Claire," Louis breathed over her face in a sigh of relief, his gorgeous yet pained visage going in and out of focus due to the tears in her eyes. "Where do you hurt, chérie?"

"It hurts...to breathe," Claire managed to squeak out. "He grabbed me...from behind." She gasped and cried out in agony as a fresh wave of pain washed over her body. "Where...is he?"

Louis moved his stone-cold hand to gently hold hers, and she gripped it with all her might as the fire continued to snake its way through her veins.

"Lestat fled shortly after we arrived. Edward, Bella and Jacob took off after him." Claire nodded her head as gently as she could, yet even that small movement sent racks of pain afresh within her limbs.

"Do you hurt anywhere else, chérie?" Louis questioned.

"He bit me," Claire replied through clenched teeth. She motioned to her shoulder with her eyes only. "Back here...feels like it's on fire...and it's spreading." Louis swore loudly in French and then hung his head; Claire could only guess at what he might have been thinking. With a pained expression, Louis looked over his shoulder and barked, "Where's Carlisle?"

"He'll be here in just a minute," a familiar voice rang out. "I can hear him coming now."

"Renesmee?" Claire gasped.

"Yes, my love, she's here," Louis assured her quietly. Claire heard some rustling close by, and over Louis' shoulder appeared the ivory-skinned face of her best friend and sister, her copper curls tousled from the hunting excursion, her chocolate eyes brimming with unshed tears.

"Hey girl," Renesmee said softly, a large tear rolling gently down her rose-petal cheek.

"Hey," Claire whispered, then she groaned and gasped in agony.

"You're gonna be all right," Nessie told her. "Grandpa Carlisle is gonna fix you up good as new, you'll see." Claire squeezed Louis' hand as hard as she could, locking her jaw to muffle the screams of pain as much as possible. She nodded her head minutely to acknowledge her sister's words and squeezed her eyes closed in an attempt to meditate and block as much of the pain as possible, but to no avail. Claire could not focus enough of her energy to maintain the block because pain was the only feeling that registered in her brain.

Louis carefully slid his free hand behind her shoulder, his icy, marble skin partially soothing the burn, but only by a minute degree on the surface, the fire within charring her body. He looked over his shoulder as a new voice approached and demanded, "Let me pass, Louis." Claire blinked rapidly to clear her vision and over Louis' shoulder appeared a good-looking, pale young man with blond hair, knowledgeable and youthful honey-colored eyes with a professionally serene smile on his face. Claire had seen his picture a few times in Nessie's living room: the family patriarch, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Carlisle knelt gracefully on the other side of her body, opposite Louis, and began his examination.

"Where does it hurt, Claire?" Carlisle inquired as his fingers gently, yet painfully, poked and prodded her limbs.

"She said it hurts for her to breathe," Louis answered for her. "Lestat apparently grabbed her from behind and then he bit her on the back of her shoulder." Carlisle began checking her sides and every prod caused her to cry aloud, which in turn increased her excruciating pain.

"It's like...I can't get...enough air," Claire choked out in between painful breaths. "It feels...like someone's...sitting...on my...chest. Louis...make it stop!" And she screamed in agony as Carlisle pushed in on both sides of her chest, but the scream was drowned out by a gurgle in her throat, all the while the flames continued to course their fiery way thru her body. Carlisle gentle yet quickly rolled Claire onto her side, clearing the obstruction from her mouth.

"Lestat broke every rib," Carlisle reported, keeping Claire's airway clear by cradling her head between his frosty yet steady hands. "Her lungs have been punctured by the shattered fragments and she's bleeding internally." Claire's vision had blurred so much from the intensity of the pain that she finally just closed her eyes. She opened them again to see Louis lower his head once again, this time in defeat. Another scream escaped her lips as Louis began to speak.

"What can we do?" he demanded softly, his coal-black eyes desperate and pleading.

"There's nothing I can do for her here," Carlisle replied honestly. "Trying to move her will only make it worse, and the nearest hospital is still a five-minute dash from here, but it would probably take a lot longer because of the way she would have to be positioned," Carlisle elaborated. "Louis, she's already been bitten. You could help the change to happen."

"No, no, no," Louis sobbed dryly, his eyes vulnerable and pained. "I didn't want this for her."

"You have to choose, Louis," Carlisle instructed as Claire gurgled through another scream and Carlisle cleared her passageway. "You're going to lose her if you don't choose now." Somehow, Claire found the tiniest of voices and whispered, "Louis, please...save me." Louis opened his darkened eyes, looked from Claire to Carlisle and asked, "You'll stop me if necessary?"

Carlisle replied solemnly, "You have my word." Louis gently picked up her wrist and as he brought it up to his lips, paused, gazed at Claire's pain-stricken face and uttered, "I love you, Claire." Claire managed a shadow of a smile, whispering laboriously, "And I...you...forever." Then Louis bit her, tasting her life's liquid briefly before licking the wound, sealing the venom inside.

A deep shudder rolled through Louis' frame in response to the undiluted sweetness of her blood. He shook his head, attempting to clear his normally razor-sharp mind, fighting the instinctive bloodlust struggling for control of his actions. Louis bit her again, in the crease of her elbow, and deftly sealed the wound. Every bite seemed to increase Claire's excruciating pain tenfold, the burn spreading even more quickly throughout her limbs.

Louis repeated his actions on her other arm, then on each of her legs and the top of each breast. Carlisle put a hand on Louis' shoulder and said, "That's enough. The venom will do the rest."

"I hope you're right," Louis replied, opening his eyes for the first time since biting Claire. The black color of thirst had been replaced, not by the pure gold of the vegetarians, but neither by the fiery red of the normal vampires. His eyes were now a coppery burnt orange, a mixture of the two colors Claire had come to recognize. The flames moved throughout her entire body where they continued to slowly char her veins. Louis knelt beside her once more, slipping his chilly hand into her clenched fist. Another shriek escaped her lips unbidden as tears continued to slide down her scratched skin.

"When will we be able to move her?" Louis asked, looking hopefully towards Carlisle.

"It's unclear right now," Carlisle answered, clearing Claire's mouth once more as a gurgled scream bubbled its way through. "Someone will need to stay with her and keep her airway clear until the venom heals the breaks and repairs the damage to her lungs." Claire squeezed Louis' hand hard as another ripple of pain shot through her body. Louis looked down at Claire's face, brushed away her tears gently with the back of his frigid hand and assured her softly, "I'm right here, chérie. I won't leave your side, I promise."

Claire attempted a weak grin and tried to say "Thank you," but her response was cut off by another bubbling up of blood from her lungs. Louis shushed her, saying, "Don't try to speak, love. It will only make it worse. I'm going to take care of you." Claire gazed at Louis' blurry form and nodded once as gently as she could. Louis softly caressed her cheek before glancing over his shoulder at the sound of someone approaching.

"What happened?" Bella inquired as her indistinct form appeared at Louis' shoulder. Claire furiously blinked her eyes to clear her vision, once again attempting to block the pain from her mind. She managed to catch a quick glimpse at Bella as Louis recounted the tale.

"Where's Lestat?" Louis asked gruffly, returning his gaze to Claire's quivering form.

"Jake is still chasing him," Bella answered. "We came back to check on Claire and see if there was any way we could help." Louis shook his head and replied, "Carlisle looked her over and told me that I'd lose her if I didn't..." Then she disappeared and Edward took her place, setting a hand on Louis' shoulder.

"I did everything that you suggested," Louis said to Edward. "I only hope it was enough."

"She's going to be all right, Louis," Edward reassured him. "She's no worse than Bella was, and she came through just fine."

"I pray you're right." Louis placed his free hand on top of Edward's, squeezed it and said, "Thank you." Edward clapped Louis on the back after he'd released his hand and both he and Bella departed. Claire squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself into a trance as the flames scorched her body through, time trudging slowly onward.

The next time Claire remembered opening her eyes, the sun was shining through the gap in the canopy. The intense fire continued to rage as she glanced around and once again tried to block the pain from her mind. Louis was still by her side, his gorgeous face glittering brilliantly in the daytime sun, his coppery eyes locked on hers.

"Hey beautiful," Louis sighed. "You had a rough night, you know." Claire locked her jaw and groaned as another wave of fire broke through her body, scorching her chest. Louis' body trembled as he listened to Claire's cry of pain, knowing that there was nothing he could do except wait for the venom to finish its work. "I'm sorry," Louis repeated once again, as he had many times throughout the night as he watched his love writhe in pain before his eyes.

The knife-like pain Claire had been experiencing with each breath now took on a burning sensation as the fire snaked its way through her chest. Claire once again shut her eyes, forcing herself into a trance-like state where the only thing that mattered was the pain. She knew that the pain was healing her; she only needed to stop fighting it. The more she struggled with the pain, the longer the pain would last. Claire instead focused on the only other thing that held any meaning for her: Louis. She could hear his slow, steady breathing beside her, and she attempted to match her breathing with his, but soon gave up. Her body still reacted to her injuries as the venom slowly made its way to heal them. So in her mind, she kept time with Louis' controlled breathing as the fire continued to burn.

Three thousand seven hundred and forty-six breaths later, Claire noticed her own breathing no longer sliced through her body. She had not spit up any blood since somewhere around one thousand two hundred and some odd breaths. She knew that that meant the venom had repaired the punctures in her lungs. Louis could hear the near-silent cracks and snaps as the venom rebuilt Claire's shattered ribcage while she lay there, her body twitching slightly, her eyes tightly closed. The fire had reached her fingers and toes, the whole of her body now burned with excruciating pain. Claire pushed herself deeper into her self-induced trance, intent on nothing else but her immortal angel. She heard the soft rustle of leaves and some footfalls as they were approached, Claire continuing to keep count with Louis' measured breathing.

"How is she doing?" Carlisle's voice asked quietly.

"I think her lungs have been repaired," Louis answered, squeezing her hand gently. "Her breathing has improved greatly and I believe that her ribs have also been healed." Carlisle's voice hand moved closer when he replied, "Let me check." Claire felt icy hands grasp her sides gently, poking and prodding to either affirm or disprove Louis' suspicions. "You were right, Louis," Carlisle confirmed. "We can move her anytime you're ready." All the while, the flames continued to scorch Claire's entire body, changing her internal structure into the being that she was becoming, her heart pumping laboriously to move her now-venomous blood throughout her veins.

Ten thousand one hundred and eight breaths later, Claire found herself laying on a long table under several bright lights. The fire had intensified once again and now began to creep its way towards her heart. Louis had remained at her side throughout the entire process, just as he'd promised. He had carried her from the secluded forest glen, where the whole nightmarish incident had occurred, to the safe haven inside the Denali clan's immense home.

"How much longer, Alice?" Louis asked quietly, his hand still clasped within hers. Claire noticed that as the fire left her fingers, Louis' hand no longer chilled her skin.

"Not long. I'll get everyone up here," Alice's voice chimed from across the room. "Don't worry, Louis. She's going to be perfect."

Ever so slowly, the flames left her toes, then her feet. Claire screamed internally as the heat in her chest intensified as the fire slowly began to consume her heart. She knew she could wiggle her toes and curl her fingers, but didn't dare try to move for fear of breaking her trance, which had allowed her to keep most of her cries of pain inside her, sparing her Louis more feelings of guilt for his actions. The venom slowly snaked its way out of her arms and legs, filling her torso completely with its fiery burn. The fire charring her chest, the last remnants of the venom fled her torso; Claire's back arched as the fire reached the very center of her heart, burning intensely until it caused her heart to falter. Claire slumped back down onto the table as her heart stumbled thru a few beats...a heavy thump...then silence, never to beat again.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Claire opened her eyes and gazed around in amazement. The sharpness and clarity of her vision enthralled her; she could see every minute detail of the wood in the ceiling above her, the brightness of the lights - which would have blinded her to look at directly had she been human - now simply was just...there, and yet she could see thru the light to the filament core, glowing white-hot. While this seemed to last forever, only a few seconds had past. Claire's mind had not yet grasped the vampire sense of time. Then, a gentle squeeze around her hand brought her mind into sharp focus.

Instinctively, she jerked her hand free and leapt away, ready to face her unknown assailant. Her vampire-sharp mind brought to its forefront the need to protect one's self; as the face in front of her registered in her brain, she was flooded with a sense of calm and, above all, happiness. Claire took in the perfection that was her Louis with new eyes: she could see every strand that made up his golden locks, the smooth ivory plane that was every inch of his divine countenance, and his soft coppery orbs that had entranced her from the very beginning. She felt an odd sensation tingle in her throat as she realized that she hadn't taken a breath since leaping away from the table.

She inhaled deeply and tasted a mixture of the sweetest of fragrances: Louis, the closest to her, smelled of jasmine, herbs, freshly-laundered linens dried in the sun, a touch of freesia and daisies, and the lightest hint of citrus; other smells in the room included a woodsy musk, fresh parchment, roses, lavender, a whiff of mint, a dash of fresh cotton and a sweet aroma that Claire couldn't identify mixed with a sharp edge that her nostrils burn. She watched with keen interest as Louis slowly moved around the table to stop a few feet in front of her.

"Claire?" Louis' magical voice rang out, Claire's ears hearing it clearly for the first time. "It's all right, my love. I know it can be a little disorienting at first. No one here means you any harm." Claire locked her eyes on Louis' face, slowly yet gracefully stepping forward to meet him.  
"Louis?" she said, her voice tinkling like a set of tiny silver bells.

"Yes, chérie. I'm right here." Louis took another step forward, now standing directly in front of Claire. Suddenly, Claire threw her arms around Louis, relief filling her body. Louis put his arms around her in return, picking her up and swinging her around in pure exhilaration. He set Claire back on her feet and kissed her passionately, not having to hold back any longer. Claire felt the same electricity course thru her body that she'd felt while she was human and was supremely thankful that the connection between her and Louis had not been lost in the transformation.

"Ahem..." someone cleared their throat, attempting to remind them that they were not alone. Louis reluctantly broke their kiss and unwound Claire's arms from around his neck. Claire felt embarrassed, waiting for the rush of blood to her cheeks to give her away. Then she remembered that she would never blush again. A small pang of regret registered in her mind, but that was quickly dismissed by a feeling of calm and contentedness. She then began searching the room and quickly found Jasper standing in front of a large group of others.

Tiny, pixie-like Alice peeked over Jasper's shoulder with a brilliant grin on her ivory face. Behind her stood Edward, Bella, Carlisle and Esme, Jacob and her best friend/sister, Renesmee. To the left of the group Jasper was guarding was Garrett, standing in front of the Denali clan: Kate, Carmen and Eleazar, and finally, Tanya. Claire slowly smiled as she realized that she was surrounded by her family, and she replied in her new silvery voice, "Hey guys." A collective sigh went up as everyone breathed their relief that the transformation had been successful.

Carlisle stepped out from between Edward and Esme, held his hands open at his sides to show he wasn't going to attack, took a few steps and asked, "How do you feel, Claire?"

"I feel..." Claire paused as she thought about it. "I feel everything all at once: I'm happy, relieved, excited, scared yet safe and I feel..."

"Thirsty?" Carlisle offered.

"Now that you mentioned it," Claire said as a burning sensation engulfed her throat. "But, I wanna know what happened. Where's Quil? What happened to him? What about Lestat?"

"Whoa, slow down," Garrett interjected, holding up his hands. "We can only answer one thing at a time."

"Oops," Claire giggled. "I guess I got carried away."

"Don't worry," Kate replied, smiling. "We get distracted easily; you'll get used to it."

"All right, then. What happened with Lestat?" Claire inquired, squeezing Louis' hand.

"Well," Jacob began as he stepped out of the group Jasper was still guarding. "Edward, Bells and I chased him after he took off. After a few miles, Bells and Edward decided to go back to the clearing and see if there was anything they could do to help you. I chased him for hours and we finally made it to the ocean. He jumped in and took off."

"So, what does that mean?" Claire asked, looking at Louis.

"We're not sure," Louis answered. "Alice will keep an eye out for him to see if he decides to come back. But I don't think he will, at least not for some time. And besides, he won't be able to hurt you any longer." Louis lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, caressing it with his thumb briefly before dropping his hand. "As for your other questions..."

"Quil! Is he all right?" Claire exclaimed, struggling to remember the details of that night. Her human memories seemed shrouded in a haze, as though a veil had been thrown over her eyes. She quickly realized that her human eyes had been veiled by her humanity, her immortal eyes seeing things clearly in perfect detail.

"Quil is just fine," Jake answered her. "It took him about eight hours to burn off the sleeping agent that Lestat had been giving him. He had a hard time dealing with what Louis had done to save you, but I talked to him and calmed him down. He finally accepted that this had been done to save your life and is waiting to see you, as soon as you're ready." Claire felt an immense weight lift off her shoulders, knowing that Quil was safe and unharmed. Then she began to worry about how Quil would react to her, now that she could be considered an enemy. Another wave of soothing calm washed over her and she smiled at Jasper in appreciation. Slowly, she drew in a deep breath, let it out and said, "I want to see Quil."

"Claire," Carlisle began, "are you sure? You haven't fed yet. We just want to make sure that you've been taken care of first." As Carlisle mentioned it, the fiery burn returned to her throat, causing Claire to forget everything else. Yet, even as the instinctive urge to hunt, to soothe the burn grasped her mind, Claire quickly pushed it down, ignoring the dry scratchiness of her throat and focused on Quil. The burn in her throat diminished, leaving only a small tickle of irritation behind.

"No, I want to see Quil," Claire announced, her now musical voice rich and full. "As long as I don't think about it, it doesn't bother me." A collective murmur began buzzing throughout the room yet Claire could distinctively hear every word.

"...seen nothing like this," Eleazar whispered to Carmen. "...just like Bella," Esme murmured to Alice. "...be interesting to see what else she can do," Edward said softly to Renesmee.

"Are you sure, Claire?" Carlisle asked again, his tawny eyes composed yet wary. Claire inhaled deeply, pushing her need for hunting deep down inside her mind, let out her breath slowly and answered, "Yes, I'm sure." Carlisle looked at Jacob, nodded his head and Jacob left the room. Claire could easily hear the pound of Jacob's feet on the stairs as he left the room, could hear his strong heartbeat, and could hear a quick flutter-like heartbeat nearby. Claire's eyes followed the sound to its source and gazed at Renesmee. Nessie smiled at her sweetly, and Claire returned the grin as she heard two sets of heavy footsteps begin to ascend the stairs. Claire's breath quickened slightly and she looked at Louis, who was smiling at her serenely, and asked, "You'll stop me...if anything bad starts to happen, right?"

"I'm right here, chérie," Louis assured her. "You're going to be just fine. I can feel it." He squeezed Claire's hand tightly and quickly kissed her cheek. Claire steeled herself and held her breath as the footsteps reached the landing.

A few seconds later, which seemed to take forever, Jacob re-entered the room followed by Quil, whose eyes were locked on the ground. Claire smiled with joy upon seeing Quil safe and unharmed. She was still smiling when Quil finally lifted his eyes to look at her. A relieved look crossed his face as he gazed at her anew, and a smile appeared, lighting up his eyes.

"Hey Claire," Quil breathed, his face scrunched up slightly due to the proximity of so many vampires.

"Hey Quil," Claire replied, exhaling slowly. She gripped Louis' hand and inhaled deeply, carrying the scent of Quil into her body. The sweetness of the human scent was mixed with a somewhat musty smell that burned in Claire's nostrils. Claire relaxed as she knew that she would never harm Quil, even in spite of her being a vampire.

"I'm glad you're okay," Claire said, the grin on her face broadening as he responded, "Thanks. I'm glad you're okay, too. Even if you do stink a little now."

"Well, you don't smell like a bushel of roses, yourself," Claire shot back playfully as the entire room erupted into laughter.

"Well, I'm glad you still look like you, except for the eyes," Quil said after the laughter had died down. "Your eyes are...pretty wild, Claire."

"What do you mean? What's wrong with my eyes?" Claire asked, looking around at everyone before Alice stepped out and answered, "It's nothing to worry about, Claire. It's the same for all newborns. Hold on just a sec." Then she dashed out of the room, returning a few seconds later carrying a huge gilded mirror that looked bigger than she did. Alice set the mirror down and called out from behind it, "Go ahead, take a look."

Claire released Louis' hand and strolled up to the looking glass. She saw a gorgeous creature looking back at her: long, shiny raven locks falling straight down her back with beautiful coppery skin that had a slightly powdered look to it. Then, and only then, did she look at the eyes, causing her jaw to drop. Fiery irises within her almond-shaped eyes looked back at her, reminding her of her now-fuzzy nightmares involving Lestat.

"How long..." Claire began before she felt Jasper's soothing gift seep into her body, calming her nerves. "It takes about a year for normal vampires for the brightness to dull a little," Bella explained. "A diet of animal blood will dilute it a lot quicker." Claire turned away from the mirror and took Louis' hand, who had moved to her side as she had her first look at her new appearance. She looked at Quil and said, "You were right, Quil. Those eyes are pretty freaky." Quil said nothing, but grinned broadly at her, giving her the feeling that Quil would always be her friend, no matter what.

"Claire, now that you have seen Quil, would you please consent to go hunting?" Edward asked. "Jaz is about to drive me nuts." Claire looked at Edward, who looked annoyed as he kept glancing over at Jasper, who looked extremely tense, staying as still as a statue. She smiled at them and answered, "All right, Edward. Sorry for keeping you wound up, Jasper." Jasper did not move, but he inclined his head in her direction to acknowledge her. Claire turned to Louis and said, "Let's go." She smiled at everyone and waved good-bye to Quil as she and Louis left the room and headed downstairs, hand in hand.

When they reached the door leading outside, Louis stopped. "Remember the run I took you on?" Claire struggled to think back through her fuzzy human memories, but she vaguely remembered being on Louis' back as he sprinted through the forest. "Yes, I remember...somewhat," Claire replied.

"Now you can run with me," Louis retorted. A sense of great anticipation filled Claire's mind as she and Louis stepped outside into the yard. The sun was beginning to set, the forest growing dark. As Claire looked at the trees, she realized she could still see perfectly clear, the darkness just taking on a shade of dark blue.

"Are you ready?" Louis inquired, releasing her hand. Claire nodded her head and then Louis said, "Then catch me if you can." He shot off through the trees like a bullet from a gun, yet Claire could still see his every move. She took off after him, reveling in the agility and speed she now possessed. She could hear Louis' footfalls ahead of her, the branches and limbs of trees like feathers on her skin as she tore through them. She soon caught up with Louis, the grin on his face wide with joy. Claire overtook him easily, then slowed down and ran beside him, every bit as easily as if they were walking. A few minutes later, they stopped within the shelter of the trees. Claire sat on a fallen tree log, amazed at the serene beauty of the night. Louis sat down next to her and took her hand.

"Is anything the matter, my love?"

"No, mon cher," Claire replied, looking around at the magical wonder of the forest thru her new eyes. "Will everything always be beautiful like this?"

"Yes, chérie," Louis answered. "And you will always be beautiful to me." He leaned over and kissed Claire on the cheek, then kissed her neck, took his other hand and turned her head to face him. Then he kissed her, softly at first, then more passionately. Claire threw her arms around him, pulling his body as close to hers as possible. She tore off his clothes roughly as he in turn removed hers as quickly as he could. Claire placed her lips on his once again, pulling him down on top of her as they rolled to the forest floor, the carpet of moss underneath them feeling like a blanket of velvet.

Louis took her quickly, moving against her in a rough, heady motion. Claire marveled at the feel of him, every sensation completely new to her now-immortal body. She kissed his neck and his shoulders until he lifted his head from her breasts to reclaim her mouth. Louis' hips moved roughly, driving his member hard and deep inside her. They came together, a perfect union of body, mind and soul. Louis lay on top of her, caressing her face. Their breathing resumed the normal rhythm slowly, despite their ability to go without breathing indefinitely.

"You were holding out on me," Claire accused.

"It was necessary at the time," Louis replied with a grin. "What did you think of it this time?"

"Absolutely amazing," Claire complimented. "And with no need to sleep, we could do this forever."

"Indeed," Louis agreed. "But forever is a very long time, you know."

"That's just fine by me," Claire said. "As long as you're by my side." And Louis bent to kiss Claire once more, beginning their perfect little piece of forever.

THE END


	27. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Claire and Quil remained friends in spite of being natural enemies. Claire did not return to college, instead settling for the Associate's degree that she had earned her sophomore year. Claire moved into the Denali house with Louis; after being turned, Claire developed a close relationship with Tanya. Quil eventually imprinted again with a woman he met while traveling; they got married and had several children. Tanya did eventually find her a mate: a hunter that had been severely injured during a hunting accident and they ended up being perfect for each other. Claire and Louis were married a few years later, and then left for a while to travel through Europe for their honeymoon. They were never bothered by Lestat again.


End file.
